Roman Holiday
by VixenRaign
Summary: Faith got bored with her life with Wood and was hired as a ‘Special Correspondent’ to the New Counsel. When an assignment takes her to Rome, she realizes that the weather isn't the only thing hot in 'The Eternal City'. Chapter 4 & Story Completed
1. Wet, Sweat, Heat

TITLE: "ROMAN HOLIDAY"

RATING: R, but with sex.

WARNING: Un-Beta'd! And! Shameless Pimping of the fabulous country of Italy... just so's ya know.

PAIRING: Buffy/Faith

SPOILERS: All of BtVS and AtS up to 5.19. I changed the name of the Immortal to the name of the original Immortal; Dorian Grey.

DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING, not even the title of the Fic, its barrowed from an old movie with the 'Breakfast At Tiffanies' woman in it. All BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss and his cronies, along with WB, Fox, UPN, and anyone else that might have a crack at them. The name Dorian Grey belongs to someone who's not me and whom I don't know.

DEDICATION: To the wonderful Dallas for her birth-day, this is for you, as LTFF seems to have died on me. Hope this doesn't fall too short of your liking, though it might not be Birds Of Prey. =)

SUMMERY: Faith gets sick of life with Wood and is hired as a 'Special Correspondent' to the New Counsel. When an assignment takes her to Rome, she realizes that not just the weather is hot in Rome.

.

"Roman Holiday"

Chapter One: Wet. Sweat. Heat.

Faith hated planes. She didn't like flying; that's why she always bused it places. But sometimes, you have to fly. Taking a bus to Rome from home would have been difficult, to say the least. 'Home,' she thought to herself as she pulled her rolling carry-on down the center of the plane, 'What the fuck is home anymore?'. She's seen the world these past few months, and most of what she'd seen of it wasn't terribly pleasant. As she cleared the door of the aircraft and the woman said something to her in Italian, the air coming from the out-side of the air-port hit her like a wall.

It was HOT. Very hot, a lot hotter than she ever would have expected it to be in late May. She'd never been it Italy before, all she'd seen of European summers was England. Hell, Canada was hotter in summer than England, Iceland too, probably. But this? This she hadn't expected. Now suddenly finding herself trudging through an air-port with almost no signs in English, she began to worry. Following an American family through the air-port who seemed to know their way, she was quickly lead to customs.

The lady behind the small desk was clean-looking, crisp and smiling. 'This definitely isn't an American Customs office.' Faith told herself. The woman smiled, said Bonjurno, and asked to see her Passport. Faith begrudgingly took it out and showed the woman, who typed in some things and saw the disgusted look on Faith's face.

"Do not worry," she said kindly, speaking very good English but with a deep Italian accent, "I have seen much, much worse. Besides, you'war beautiful – multo bella!" she said chuckling kindly and smiling at the brunette. 'Is she hitting on me?' she wondered, but shook it off as the woman asked her a question.

"You are here in pleasure, or business?" she asked, flipping through her records to check for anything that might need her to deport the woman. Faith worried about Willow's thoroughness of altering her records, and grunted.

"Business." Again, the woman chuckled as she stamped Faith's passport.

"Yes, well, be sure to have pleasure with your business." She handed the small blue booklet back to Faith. "Enjoy your stay in Rome; the City Without Age." The woman even shook her hand. Faith smiled back and put her passport away, pulling her bag over to the next station to be rummaged through.

After the woman at the next station simply laughed upon seeing the stake in her bag and her bottles of Holy Water, she realized this was no America. The woman told her she was 4 years too late, and again, Faith was confused.

"For the Opening Of The Doors!" she said excitedly as she gently squeezed her toiletries bag, "You will have to another 21 years for that, Donna." Faith looked confused.

"My name's Faith." She said solidly as the woman even refolded her clothes for her and put everything back as she'd found it, still smiling and laughing.

"No, no ,no – Donna. It means, Madam, yes? Miss, in English? Va bene?" Faith thought she understood, but what the fuck did 'Va Bene' mean? Faith just nodded, a little skeptic, and pulled her bag off the table to leave. "Ciao!" she woman called as the next woman came to her table. Faith followed a bunch of missionaries out of the smoldering air-port until she saw the exit doors for herself. Once the sliding doors opened, and Faith realized the terminals had been air-conditioned, she nearly started crying.

"Note to self," she whispered to herself as she got in line for a taxi, "Leather pants in Rome – Bad Idea." As she waited a TV screen behind one of the desks in the terminal told the news of the day in about 20 languages. When the English version came around she read what she cared about. There were several small traffic-jams along some of the streets of the city, and for the 37th summer in a row, the post-force was on strike, so most local letters would take a week to deliver and international ones might take up to a month due to the shortage of workers. And, to top it all off, it was 95-degrees of dry heat; no humidity. It was like baking in a brick oven.

A bunch of kind Russian boys saw how hot faith was and offered her their cab, which she took gratefully, all the boys behind her smiling and waving at her as she left. She leaned back in the cab as the man started down the street, enjoying the freezing-cold inside the cab. The man said something to her in Italian, she assumed asking here where she wanted to go, and so faith started digging through her purse.

"Uh, Via Dell'Orso," she said, though very American she realized as the man smiled at her in the mirror, "Near there – uhh . . . Pizza Nay-vo-nah, I think that says." She'd butchered it, she knew, but she'd never had to read anything in Italian before. The man repeated it a few times as he navigated them out of the air-port, probably trying to get her to say it right, but right then she didn't care. She was a leather-crusted-jet-lagged-ignornate-American, and right then she didn't give a shit.

"Ayh! Donna Bella!" she man said as she honked the horn, "Via Dell'Orso." He said simply. Faith nodded, and looked at the price of the cab ride. She had NO idea what it was worth in dollars, but it seemed pretty cheep in Euros. Handing him some money, the man gave her change, and when she tried to tip, he simply raised a finger and said,

"Repeato; 'Pee-ah-tza, Nah-Voe-Nah'. Sei?" Faith smiled and repeated it perfectly. He smiled, "Ah, bellicimo! Now – you never lost, eh?" Faith nodded, and thanked the man. She got her stuff and stepped onto the curb. The cab took off honking, the man waving back to her. Faith just smiled. She may not understand a word of what these people were saying most of the time but – DAMN! They sure were nice!

"435 Via Dell'Orso..." she said slowly, looking at the mailboxes, "Where you at?" she mumbled. Realizing she had to walk about a block, she started walking. In front of Cafés there were elegantly dressed waiters like out of some cartoons, little mustaches and toweled arms included. But, in front of the church was a old, walnut-looking woman dressed in shawls and hugging a baby to while babbling in Italian while two shoeless children danced for coins on the steps. She watched as a priest came out and asked them to leave, and none-too-gently. He called them Gypsies, and all faith could think was 'That's not kind of Gypsy Demi Moore played in that Disney movie, that's for damn sure.'

As she came upon the apartment of 435, and saw a boy run out with a back-pack on his back, she quickly caught the door. Inside, marked on the post-box, was 'Summers', CC. Making her way up to the third floor, and looking for the door marked CC, she soon found it unlocked, and even slightly open. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through her hair to try and fit what the heat was doing to it, wiping at her brow with her arm to rid it of the sweat that'd appeared there with her short walk in the heat, she tried to prepare for what she was about to do. She knocked.

"Carlo! I'm coming!" Came Dawn's voice laughing but impatient. Faith frowned but pushed the door open to reveal herself. "Carlo – just wait! The bus won't leave without us, so chill-out! – " then the girl looked up. Wow. She'd grown. She must have been a good couple inches taller than Faith now even. Long-N-Lean as ever, but as ever, in Faith's eyes, Buffy's kid sis. "Oh My God!" She yelled excitedly as she charged Faith for a hug. Faith chuckled and hugged her back.

"Hey Kiddo; surprised?"

"Yeah! What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, taking her hand and pulling it like she had when she was younger. "I thought you were back in the US again? Working with the Counsel mostly?" Faith nodded, and just as she was about to elaborate, she saw that Dawn was in the middle of packing a suitcase about twice the size of hers.

"Going somewhere?" Faith asked, and Dawn's face made a number of expressions in succession. First it was shock, then sadness, then she bit her lip and glanced from her bag to faith and back again. "You not running away are you?" the girl just laughed and went back to hurriedly shoving things in her bag.

"Not really. I signed up for this class a few months ago; Art Restoration Training; and we're going to Florence for two weeks to work on some of the art there." she suddenly looked up, her expression sad, "You're not gonna be here when I get back, are you?" she sounded really disappointed, but Faith nodded.

"Yeah, only here for 5 days, kiddo. Wish I could spend some time with you though, when do you leave?" Dawn quickly zipped the thing up and pulled it behind her as she stood in front of Faith.

"The bus was supposed to leave 5 minutes ago. I think Carlo is asking them to wait." She said all of it slowly, though her body-language seemed like she was in a rush to leave. It was obvious she wanted to stay but she knew she had to leave. 'Been there' Faith thought. "I want you to call me when I get back, alright? I feel like I haven't spoken to you in ages . . ." she had that look again, like she was trying to convince herself of something, going or staying, and right now she was trapped in the middle. "I wish I could stay . . ." she said, apologetically.

"You are NOT staying!" came a voice from the next room as the shower stopped. "This trip has been all you've talked about for the past month and I won't listen to you talk about how much you wished you'd gone for the next month as well." At that, Buffy walked in, wrapped in nothing but a towel, her hands in her hair, trying to dry it. The only think the blonde seemed surprised about what who Dawn was talking to, though the idea of Faith being in Rome let alone in her house seemed to be no shock at all. She turned to Dawn.

"Go, have a great time, I'll call you later after dinner." Dawn nodded, gave Faith a short hug, and then sped out the door, slamming it behind her. Buffy crossed her arms high over her chest and simply waited. For what, Faith wasn't sure, and didn't really care. It seemed that Italian Towels were considerable smaller than American ones. They looked good on Buffy. "So?" the blonde finally asked.

"So, By Order of The New Watchers Counsel of England, I have been sent here to review – "

"I know why you're here Faith." She said flatly, almost bored. "I'm head Slayer of the Counsel, and as such privy to more information that even you. Like, for example, you're title at the counsel. Special Operations and Situations Advisor. 'S.W.A.T. Slayer', right?" Faith nodded, and Buffy continued, her face hard and her voice bored. "And you're here to review my recent relationships and activities that the Counsel has concerns with." Again, she nodded. Buffy sighed, and sat on her couch, legs tucked up under her. "Alright, just so we're clear." Faith sat down on the couch opposite and looked at the blonde. You could take the Slayer off the Hellmouth, but a part of it will stay with her, that's for sure.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the standard review consist of a trip through the ether care of Willow-Air-International, and three days spent examining and interviewing the subject?" Faith nodded. "Then why did your file say you'd be FLYING in and why are you gonna be here for FIVE days?" Faith just sort of smiled and chuckled.

"I hate flying." She said casually, "I hate flying in planes but compared to flying through the ether, I'll take British-Airways any day! Besides." She said a little more gruffly, "I've had a few rough assignments recently. I thought maybe you could show me a good time... once we get some of this business out of the way." Buffy just shook her head, but slowly – ever so slowly – Faith noticed her expression change to a smile. Though it was obvious that Buffy didn't want it there.

"Alright. I think I could be up for that." Faith smirked, wondering if Buffy was agreeing to both sides of Faith double-entendre. "So, what have you been up to?" Buffy asked, sounding mildly interested.

"Well, my last assignment nearly killed me. Literally. I had been sent to Israel to pick up two new slayers. And, as fate would have it – in the story of my life – they both lived on the West bank. Well, I've got one, and I'm trying to find my contact in the Israeli military to show me where the other one is. And, of course, the other one is Palestinian. I've got two girls, 14 and 16, opposite sides of a war that's been raging for over 50 years, in many cases dating back hundreds of years long before that, and they're both bickering in languages I can't understand." Faith sighed. Buffy smiled and asked what happened next.

"Well, we get to a section on the Gaza Strip so we can get picked up and taken out of there, and the older one, the Israeli, starts speaking to me in English. She tells me it isn't safe here, like I don't already know this, and then she starts calling the other girl names, saying mean things, and the other girl starts hitting her, and then they get into this fight just as our car arrives to take us out of there. then, out of nowhere, fighting breaks out – and the girls are still fighting! Guns going off everywhere, and they're still yelling and bickering. It was a lot easier keeping the girls separated when they weren't as strong as us, that's for damn sure. Lucky we got them back to England."

"Have you heard from Mona and Avera since?" Faith looked at her confused.

"The two girls? Mona, the Palestinian, Avera, the Israeli?" Faith felt sort of stupid, she didn't realize Buffy had read that file, knew the story already. She shook her head.

"Nah, haven't talk to them since the boat-ride to England."

"They must have sent you, about, 20 E-Mails." Faith looked up.

"Why?"

"Wanted to thank you . . . you do know that Mona speaks English, right? She just doesn't trust Westerners."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And, it would seem, that Lesbianism amongst super-heroes isn't just an American thing." She said pointedly. Faith's eyes bugged at that.

"You Gotta be Kidding me!"

"Nope. Giles' been telling me they've been going at it like Spring-Slayer-Bunnies without the confusion of why their mating isn't resulting in reproduction." Faith's eyes remained wide, though they suddenly closed when she burst out laughing at Giles' comment.

"Regular Romeo and Juliet of the West Bank, huh?" she said, still laughing. Buffy joined in, but stopped before Faith. And silence took over. There they sat, opposite people, on opposite white couches, looking at each other in the empty room and only the sound of the bustling city out the window as distraction and the ceiling fan turned silently over-head pushing the hot air around the room.

"I assume you have a few questions to ask me?" Buffy said. Faith nodded, and took a folder out of the front pocket of her rolling bag. She opened it, flipped through it until she found a yellow legal-pad page.

"Yeah, so, this will mark the official start of your evaluation." She said reading from the sheet above, "Alright, some of the topics Willow and Giles asked me to cover were about a man by the name of," Faith squinted, and looked back up at Buffy. "'The Immortal'?" Buffy nodded. Faith'd heard of him, he was supposed to be some kind of sex and finance legend in the super-natural world.

He was also considered Evil by the counsel. Though, truth be told, he might as well have been right on the line. He did as much good as he did bad. Faith though the main reason the Counsel had opposition to him was his attachment to Angel, Wolfram & Hart, and his recent relationship with Buffy. Or, at least, that was the idea Faith had cooked up on the plane after a few drinks.

"So, uh, you had been explicitly told not to have liaisons with this man, and you did anyway. Is that correct?" Buffy nodded.

"Yes, that's true." Faith sort of smiled at the page on her lap and continued.

"It says that you lived with him temporarily, or that you would spend significant time with each-other in both your homes, is this correct?" Buffy nodded. "Did you sleep with him?" Faith asked. Buffy raised an eye-brow.

"Is that one of Giles' questions?" Buffy asked, doubting it.

"No, but I'm sure it's what everyone wants to know." Faith said smiling a little, "Besides; Are You Showing Signs Of Resistance To My Interview?" she asked as though reading from a manual. Buffy just shook her head.

"Yeah. I slept with him. A number of times." Faith's eyes widened in surprise to Buffy's indiscreet answer."

"How was it?" Faith asked, sounding interested now. Buffy just looked at her, un-phased. "Well?" She insisted.

"He was good." She said flatly. Faith made a face, tilting her head to the side. "alright, he was incredible. In fact, he was too good." At this, Buffy sounded very annoyed.

"Uhhh, 'Too Good'?" she asked, sounding skeptical, "Trust me B, there ain't no such thing." Buffy looked at her suddenly.

"Yeah? You say that after you've slept with him!" she sounded up-set.

"What? He break-up with you and now no one else is up to par?" Faith joked. Buffy leaned her head in her hands, elbows resting on her bare legs.

"Not Exactly." She said tiredly. "Keep this out of your report?" she asked, catching Faith's eye with one of hers. Faith nodded, and Buffy sighed deeply. "He was . . . TOO Satisfying." She said slowly.

"What does that mean, B, I still don't get it."

"It MEANS," she said harshly, "I hated sleeping with him. We'd have sex, I'd orgasm, and then . . . Nothing."

"What 'Nothing'?"

"I mean nothing, Faith. Nothing. Sex would be the furthest thing from my mind. I'd be in bed with this hansom, funny, rich, kind, immortal sexual god, and . . . I felt no attraction anymore. I would be SO satisfied, that I wouldn't want sex anymore. The first time it happened, I felt so awkward and out of place that I . . . I went slaying."

"You went Slaying?" Faith asked, trying to figure this all out.

"Yeah! You know, to work out whatever was going on. So I went, I Slayed, I even had a drink, and Nothing! No post-slay 'need', nothing. Even Slaying and drinking didn't fix it. when I got back, he was there waiting for me, looking all expectant, and he tried to seduce me and . . . I let him. I lied. I said I wanted him, I slept with him, and I was – Again! – left un-wanting when it was over." Buffy groaned and sighed. "by our next date a few days over, it had worn off, but this same cycle repeated over and over again through our entire relationship. So I left him. I think he knew what was going on; he was a pretty smart guy."

"Wow. . . ." Was all faith could think of saying. Buffy picked her head up, as if to say, 'don't ask.', so Faith didn't. she looked back at her page and asked the next question.

"Uh, okay, what about the man you attacked a few weeks ago?" she asked, catching Buffy's eyes, "True, he was a little more than human, but you still attacked him until he was taken to ICU. Any explanations?"

"He was spying on me." Buffy said defensively, sounding a bit like her old-old-self again, "He was hired by Angel to watch me, and I was sick of him getting in my way, following me, going to where I worked, asking people about me, asking demons and vampires if they'd seen me . . . Dorian pointed him out to me. He'd noticed him before I had."

"Who's Dorian?" Faith asked quickly.

"Dorian? Dorian Grey? The Immortal. That's his name. People just call him The Immortal because, well – names self-explanatory." Faith nodded, indicating for her to continue. "So, when I saw him sitting in the same café as I was having lunch in, watching me like some cheesy PI from an old radio-show, I just lost it. when I approached him, he started running. I was just going to confront him, tell him I knew who he was and what he was doing, but he just took off running, so I got even more pissed off – I chased after him!"

"But how did you end up breaking half his ribs and crushing his spleen?" Faith asked as gently as she could. Buffy glared at her, but continued.

"I chased him until he tried to get into his apartment. He needed to unlock it, and I slammed him against his door; bare in mind a lot harder than I intended, and it sort broke a few of his ribs – "

"Eight. It broke eight of them, B." Buffy waved it off like she didn't care.

"But what really got me was that he was trying to play it off like he didn't do anything wrong, that he didn't know who I was, or why was running after him . . . I lost it, and I punched him a few times – he took a few shots at me too, just to be fair – and then I knocked him out with his door and called an ambulance for him." Faith just stared at her like she'd never seen her before. "What? I could have just left him there?!" Now it was faith's turn to shake her head.

"Okay, I'mma do you a favor," Faith said taking a note on the page next to the question, "I'mma try and explain that to Willow and Giles in a way that DOESN'T make you sound like a crazy-person."

"Appreciate it," Buffy said quietly. Faith kept writing until she heard Buffy let out a short laugh. "But are you sure you're the best person to do that?" At that Buffy had a throw pillow to the face before she could stop it. But she just laughed harder.

"Ah, shut-up Blondie!" Faith said, throwing more Pillows. Buffy just kept laughing until she got up, holding her towel tightly to her and heading back to her room in the back.

"Faith, pick up the Pillows. I'm going to get dresses, then we're heading out to dinner." Faith barely registered what she said. It seemed that the towel had moved during her sitting and had been hiked up so much Faith could make out the curve of her ass at the bottom of the towel. But as soon as the door closed behind the blonde, she was back to earth.

"But what about the interview?!" she called, "We still have questions!" Buffy poked her head out the door again,

"You have three days to ask them, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"And you haven't had dinner yet, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"Then we'll go eat, then you can ask me when we get back from Slaying." The door closed again, and she looked out the window. Without even realizing it, night had fallen. Looking at her double-time digital watch, she saw that it was past nine at night. The late spring-night that sneaks up on you, she'd forgotten.

"B! It's Nine O'clock! What places will still be open for dinner?" she called, and out walked Buffy in a summer dress that she couldn't figure out how she'd gotten into so quickly. It was light blue with small green ivy and flowers crawling all over it. She looked stunning in it. She also wore strapy sandals that wound around her legs like ballet shoes. 'How is she gonna Slay in those, let alone walk on all this cobble-stone?'.

"Years of practice." Buffy said quietly to her silent question. "Dinner in Italy usually doesn't start until 10 or 11, so we'll be pretty alone in the restaurants, minus the tourists. Also, it's usually two or three hours long, with lost of wine and coffee, so it's a daily event." Faith's eyes bugged. "You get used to it." she said passively though she couldn't help her smile. "Get changed and we'll head out."

"Change into what? One of those?" Faith asked skeptically, pointing at Buffy's dress.

"Cotton pants and a tank-top, I know you have those." When Faith came back out of the bathroom, she was in a thin pair of jeans, her boots, and a tank-top that was so small Buffy wondered if they'd let her wear that on the same block as a church. "Alright. Let's go."

After a bit of walking, three of four blocks, they come to a large court-yard, about two-blocks long, with a fancy church on one side and an elaborate fountain in front of it. there were merchants all over the open-center of it, shops and restaurants up and down both ends of it. The while linens that made up the hundreds of table-clothes and over-hangs, aprons and umbrellas, with the shades of blue from the sky and the fountain, candle and gas-lights giving the entire plaza a warm glow . . . Faith was actually taken away by how pretty it looked. She hadn't even noticed that she'd stopped walking.

"Faith, come on," Buffy said, taking her hand and pulling her along a little, "Lets get you some food." They walked up to the café next to the large church, with a great view of the fountain, and instantly one of those waiters Faith had thought looked funny walked up to Buffy and kissed her cheeks.

"Ahh! Bella! Bella!" he said happily, "Donna Bella, so good to see you, so healthy!" he said, sitting them right away in a table along the square. "I will get your wine, sei?" and he was off.

"Come here often?" Faith joked. Buffy just said 'something like that', and looked back at Faith. "Where is here, by the way, and why does he think your name is Donna Bella? – come to think of it; bunch of people called me that too!" Buffy laughed as Faith looked confused, taking in the café and the children getting their faces painted near by.

"Donna just means woman or girl, and Bella means Beautiful. Italian men call everyone that in Italy, you'll get used to it. It's a compliment, them trying to be nice." Faith looked over her Menu, trying to hide her slight blush, "And where we are is the Piazza Navona."

"Piazza Navona!" Faith said excitedly, I've heard of that; the Cabby from the air-port taught me how to say t today in exchange for his tip." Buffy chuckled and smiled as the waiter came back with her wine.

"Let me guess; you suck at speaking Italian?" Faith nodded, and the man poured them both a glass of white wine. "Grazi Mariano." She said, drinking a bit of it slowly.

"Ah, Elizabetta! Who is this ragazza abbastanza?" Buffy laughed a bit and smiled at the man as Faith looked at him, slightly offended 'What did this freak call me?!'

"Mariano, this is my friend Faith, from Boston." He shook her hand and kissed it. while he was bent over doing that she asked what he'd called her. "he called you a very attractive woman, pretty much." Buffy summarized.

"Sei, sei. From bow-stain – " it took him a few tried to say Boston, but he just couldn't seem to do it, so Buffy put him out of his misery and just said East Coast. "Ah, yes, East-Coast, yes. Very cold, sei?" Faith just smiled and nodded. He gave them some menus and left them again.

"He sure is friendly." Faith said. Buffy nodded.

"He's one of my bosses. I work as a waitress when I need to pay for extra little expenses here and there, since this is so close to the house I tend to work any later shifts they might have here." She sipped her wine again, "They love having American waitresses; makes ordering from English-speakers go a lot faster." Buffy chuckled at something, and Faith wanted to know what.

"What's so funny?"

"Well, I kind of like being The American Waitress. Americans always love to ask me where I'm from, what I'm doing here, leave huge tips . . . but its more fun to pretend to be Italian, trying to speak English with a Texan accent." Faith gave a slight surprised laugh as she was half way through a gulp of her wine.

"And how do you pull that off?"

"Throw in some Italian here and there, speak in slightly broken English with a Texan accent, and use lots of little words to describe things." Buffy smiled evilly. "Americans always compliment me on my English-speaking skills when I do that, telling them I learned to speak 'American' at 'Take-Sase State Universly'." She said in what must have been her 'Italian-Texan' accent. Faith nearly cried laughing at it, and the idea of Buffy taking orders like that.

About two hours later, when night had really fallen, Italians had started their dinners, and Faith and Buffy had just finished theirs, the coffee arrived. They had finished a bottle of wine. Two glasses for Buffy . . . the rest was in Faith. Buffy had ordered a desert Latta, and Faith was having a Caffe il Grappa. In other words, a shot of espresso with a shot of sugar-flavored 80-proof vodka. This should be interesting.

"So Faith," Buffy asked, glad for Faith slight inebriation, "Why are you here?" she asked. Faith looked at her blankly, her eyes blinking at different speeds. She realized she'd have to elaborate. "Why do you feel like you need a vacation? And why here?" You were in Boston before this, Willow told me. I thought that was your vacation for the summer?" Faith chuckled darkly into her coffee as she sipped it.

"Boston? A vacation?" she asked skeptically. "Went there to see my family. And let me tell you, the parts where they live were almost as bad as Gaza. My Dad's pretty deep in hawk, pawned half the shit in his house to keep drinking, and he's too deep into that to work anymore . . . worst part is I know he'd drink until it left him on the streets and then he'd do it until he was in the grave." She laughed bitterly, drank some more, and sighed. "Besides. I hear there are some things to see in Rome that you can't find anywhere else." She was looking right at Buffy as she said this, but the blonde still didn't get it.

"Alright then. I'll show you tomorrow afternoon, alright? I have to waitress in the morning – filling in for a friend." Faith just smirked, her smile creeping up the left side of her face until her dimples showed.

"I'd like that." She said, crossing her legs under the table, her calf running against the blondes. Buffy just shook her head and waved Mariano for the check.

"If you're at the footsy-stage, we'd better get you in bed quick." Faith smiled as they both got up.

"I like the sound of that!" she said happily. Buffy kissed the waiter's cheeks in goodbye, who then did the same to Faith who started laughing loudly.

"Scusi Faith," she said to the waiter, "Multo Bevuto." She said, making a drinking motion with her hand. The man winked and wished them good night.

"What did you say to him about me B?" Faith asked as Buffy took her by the hand and lead her through the large and now bustling square back to the apartment.

"I told him you were single." She lied, which got her a hard sock to her arm. It was a lot better than trying to tell faith she was drunk. She tried to that once when they were younger, at the Bronze . . . Faith would have none of it. It often ended with someone getting hurt; usually Faith trying to prove she could Slay like this. On the way out, Faith noticed little to nothing of many pretty features of the plaza.

In a dark alley, not a block from the apartment, Buffy heard something following them. It was a step and a clink, perfectly in time with each-other, and the soft swish of a cape. As the breeze caught up with them, the subtle smell of dry, stale death caught her nose. It was a smell she knew. One she knew was not safe to have around with Faith as drunk as she was. Leaning Faith against a wall, she asked the girl for the stake tucked into the back belt-loop of her pants.

"Why you want my stake? What's going on?" she asked, still leaning, a little woozy from the high dose of caffeine mixed with the strong spirit of the liquor. But Buffy didn't answer. She just spun around and looked down the long and winding street behind them.

Then Faith heard it too. The click, step, click, step as it came closer. As she took in a deep breath the smell hit her Slayer senses and instantly her body tensed. This was Death stalking them, old Death. It was a Vampire. Then suddenly, when it sounded like it was right upon them, it stopped. Then, it was right in front of them. Having jumped from the roof-tops above their heads, a vampire that looked like it'd walked right off the set of 'Interview With The Vampire' stood not two feet from Buffy.

"Good evening Elizabetta." The old Italian Vampire said. He wore a full black cape, a black and white suit and shirt, a blood-red tie, and a straight cane with a round silver top. Faith pushed herself from the wall, faltered slightly, and Buffy pushed her back against it without looking back. "Ah, you have a new companion?" he asked kindly, "And so soon after Dorian? He will be hurt that you could replace him so quickly."

"She's Family, Paul." She said solidly, spitting his name like a bad taste from her mouth as she raised her stake. "Killing her would be welcoming a world of pain you don't want." The Vampire's human face scowled disgustedly.

"I am Paulo De'Morte," He said swellingly, arrogantly, "I was feeding from the necks of your ancestors before your prophecies were even written."

"Oh Shut-Up!" Buffy said, sounding tired and un-caring about his bull-shit. "Your mother was an accused witch during the inquisition and your father was a horny priest that couldn't keep it to himself. As soon as you were born they killed your mom, and to cover it up your dad said you were a child of the Devil. You were tortured from birth, and fed to other creatures they studied . . . and you haven't killed a Slayer yet. So stuff it, Paul."

"My Name is Paulo De'Morte – "

"Yeah? You and every other Vamp this side of Germany." She raised her fist and the stake. She was done talking, that much was obvious. Faith may have been drunk, but she knew when Buffy'd pissed someone; she wore the look on Paulo's face a lot. He lifted his cane, and suddenly it was a sward. Both Buffy and Faith though "... should have seen that coming."

"It will be an honor for you and your companion to be my first." He growled, though his face remained human-like, the scowling smile etched deep into his cheeks.

"Hate to break it to you, but you've already died once . . . Sure you wanna die again?" Faith smiled, leaning against the wall a little still, she liked Buffy's quips. Without warning though, the fighting started. At first it mostly consisted of Paulo wilding swinging at her with his sward, and Buffy dipping, diving, and twisting her body so as not to get hit. It was really cool to watch, if you're Faith, and Drunk, otherwise it'd be pretty scary.

Then, when Buffy 'Limbo'd' under a swipe that would have cut her in half, she dropped into a double-kick to his stomach, unbalancing him, and they both fell to the ground. Faith rushed over to help, but was stopped. Buffy'd Flipped off of her back and grabbed faith by her shoulders.

"Faith! Stop! Fighting like this will only get us both hurt or killed!"

"But you can't take him alone!" Faith rationalized. Just as she was about to reply they heard Paulo laughing behind them.

"Ah, it would seem that she does not have much faith in you, Elizabetta. Perhaps you should listen to her, eh?" Buffy actually growled. Like, really growled. Her lip drew and the animalistic rumble seemed to bubble up from her throat . . . Faith was a little shocked. Okay, and a little turned on to, she rationalized to herself, but that was... Whoa.

"Don't you touch her!" Came her quiet warning as she stood in front of Faith protectively. He advanced again, touching his sward to the bottom of Buffy's chin. Hitting the sides flatly with her palms in two separate directions had the sward flying out of his hand and into hers before Paulo could figure out why his hand was empty. Buffy only gave him a second to realize the tables had turn before she started attacking.

And, wouldn't you know it, that dopey cape had a practical use rather than just Role Playing potential. He was actually using it to catch the sward as he mimicked Buffy in her swerving and twisting. But all the swishing and stabbing was annoying her, so the next time he caught her sward she used all her Slayer strength, and pulled the ward up. The Cape was shredded, and Paulo's arm fell to the cobbled street with a thud. Now it was Buffy's Sward at his dead throat, him quickly backing away, holding his now empty shoulder socket.

"Now get out of my city and off my streets, Paul, before you lose your head." He quickly changed into his demon-face to scream a loud growl at her before trotting off into the night. Buffy casually walked over to the arm, still bleeding lightly, and picked it up, walking over to Faith against her wall again. "Ready for bed yet?" Faith smirked a little, but looked to the ground before her eye catching the still randomly spurting arm.

"Souvenir?" Faith joked. Buffy just shrugged and led them the rest of the way down the street to the apartment.

"He'll mostly bleed to death, or get killed off by some other night-creature in the state he's in. If the arm still exists as more than death in the mourning, then we'll know if he's alive." As they stood in front of the huge door to get into the apartment ('Why are all the doors here so friggin' huge?' Faith wondered absently), Buffy tossed the arm lightly so that it landed on the balcony out her window and she did trail blood through the stairwell again.

Once they got inside, faith plopped down on the couch, stretching out, making herself comfortable, watching Buffy as she got a large glass roasting pan out of her small kitchen and put the arm in it, resting on the balcony again so as to keep the stench of Death out of the living room. When Buffy tiredly plopped down on the couch next to her, eyes closed, running a hand through her hair, Faith smiled and moved closer.

"It's been a weird night." Buffy mumbled, "Even for me." Faith started rubbing her back gently, watching her. The blonde took in a long and slow breath, breathing it out about as quickly. She did this a few times, sighing with each breath out.

"Feeling better?" Faith asked, chuckling a bit. Buffy shook her head, but kept her eyes close, indulging in Faith's touch. When Faith leaned forward and kissed her, it seemed perfectly logical to the brunette. She wanted to kiss her, she wasn't doing anything better at the moment, and Buffy said she wasn't feeling particularly fabulous at the moment... made sense! Kisses always make you feel a little better in some way, and Faith knew that this kiss would make her feel loads better; she'd been waiting over two years for this!

Now, although the action made sense to Faith, she was more than just slightly shocked when the blonde allowed herself to be kisses. She was even more surprised when Buffy even raised a hand to her cheek and kissed her back gently. And suddenly, Faith was somewhere else. Whether it was the drink, the feel of the small, soft lips against hers after all this time of yearning, or the sudden heat passing in her blood at the contact between them; it moved her. Raising her hands to either of Buffy's cheeks, she kissed her slowly, deeply, wanting more of this feeling; it was the best tension she'd felt since the Final Battle for Sunnydale, the most calming and relaxing wave of lust in her life.

"B . . ." She moaned, the feel of the soft and shy tongue against her taking her breath away, making her see stars behind her closed eye-lids. The soft breaths, coming in slow sighs against her lips as they kissed, the smell of warn sweet wine and honey; a new smell. She remembered a time when all the blonde smelled like was expensive perfume and dirt, vampire dust and smokeless California air. She liked this better; a whole lot better, tasting her breath from her lips and the way it brought a small strangled moan from her throat.

She felt Buffy's weight shift under hers, and Faith moved to sit over her lap. The long, wild tendrils of hair, now naturally blond from the heat of the Italian sun, seemed so smooth and priceless in her hands. The small hands at her hips, holding her lightly, with their deadly but delicate fingers tickling her where her shirt had ridden up and exposed her stomach. God! It felt like fire was burning in her belly, warming everything; her skin, the blood in her vanes, the air in her lungs . . . She knew; this must be a Slayer thing. And as Faith moved her hand to the blonde's bare thigh, slowly gliding up Buffy's leg until she hit the hem of her summer-dress, she started feeling faint.

"Alright, that's it," Buffy said business like, gently but quickly lifting the brunette right off her lap and on to the couch where she'd been sitting before the kiss, "Yeah; you're drunk." She said, getting up and straitening out the now slightly wrinkled fabric of her clothes.

"What?" Faith asked, really confused. Not to mention disappointed. And Aroused... What the hell just happened?! Buffy looked at her sympathetically.

"Drunk kissing I get, been there; hell Spike unliving proof of those kinds of bad choices. But I draw the line at drunk Sex these days." She put a gentle hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "Trust me Faith, you'll be happier for it in the morning." She highly doubted it.

"B, no, wait – "

"Faith, really. It's fine; I've kissed girls before, it's no big deal." She said, trying to comfort her, when in reality it sort of disappointed the brunette... She'd kinda liked the thought that she would be Buffy's first time. In fact, she was taken a little off guard when she said that and forgot the main argument she was trying to make.

"You have?" she asked suddenly, "Who?" Buffy blushed a bit and smiled regretfully.

"In many ways Italian social-culture is a lot further along that American. I go to clubs pretty frequently, and I've been the drunk girl latching on to the first pretty face that'll have me. . . doesn't mean I'm proud of it." she shook her head as it to rid herself of something, some thought, and straitened up again. "The point is Faith; I'm fine. Get some sleep, I'll get you blackest and things." And she trotted out of the room. Faith realized she was panting. She could feel her cheeks tingling with the pre-feelings of hyperventilation. WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!

When the blonde returned she had a blanket, a down-pillow, a soup-pot, a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. She pulled all the cushions off the back of Faith's couch, stacking them on the floor, faith silently watching as she set the bedding on the end, and put the water, pills and saucepan on the coffee-table. Faith'd gotten her breathing under control, but she was NOT in a good mood.

"Alright, take the pills and drink all the water now, before the head-ache arrives so by the time it gets to you the painkillers will have kicked in." She said as though explaining to someone who was ignorant, "The pan is incase you wake up in the night and don't think you're gonna make it to the bathroom in time. That's not to say it's a substitute; try and use the toilet if you can because I'm not going to clean it out for you tomorrow." She then turned to leave again, but Faith caught her arm.

"No, B, you don't understand," she said urgently, wishing she hadn't had so much to drink – wishing she hadn't had suck a reaction to Buffy's touch – sobering but at the same time still on some kind of high from the night's events, "I love you, Buffy." She said quietly, trying to say it like she meant it, knowing that she did. Buffy just smiled wryly and patted her head.

"I know Faith, I love you too." She said it as though to a slow child, and walked towards her room again, but Faith called to her.

"No B! I mean it! Really!" She said, needing the blond to understand. Buffy just sighed, now sounding a little tired.

"Yeah. I know. I rock – I kick ass – I'm a God – and you love me. Now go to sleep." She turned towards her room and added in a whisper, "... they always love you when their drunk... lets see if she still 'Loves Me' tomorrow." She sounded very doubtful. Closing the door, Faith was left alone again.

"Shit." She muttered, feeling the beginnings of her buzz coming down with Buffy's last words for the night. She reached for the water and the pills, and took them both quickly. Punching her pillow roughly, throwing it against one arm of the couch, she slammed her head against it as she pulled the blanket over her. Things were not going well at all. Starring out the open window on to the balcony, the arm-roasting pan all but forgotten, the sky above the opposite rooftops was already turning from purple to blue off in the distance. And without even realizing it, Faith fell a sleep.

.

( To Be Continued . . . )

VixenRaign

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Dear Dallas; Happy Birthday! Much love and best wishes, your friend,

Vixie


	2. Sights, Tastes & Fellings

**TITLE**: Roman Holiday, Part two

**RATING**: R, but with sex.

**WARNING**: Un-Beta'd! And! Shameless Pimping of the fabulous country of Italyâ just so's ya know.

**PAIRING**: Buffy/Faith

**SPOILERS**: All of _BtVS_ and _AtS_ up to 5.19. I changed the name of the Immortal to the name of the original Immortal; Dorian Grey.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own NOTHING, not even the title of the Fic, its barrowed from an old movie with the '_Breakfast At Tiffanies_' woman in it (Audrey Hepburn). All _BtVS_ and _AtS_ characters belong to Joss and his cronies, along with WB, Fox, UPN, and anyone else that might have a crack at them. The name Dorian Grey belongs to someone who's not me and whom I don't know.

**DEDICATION**: To the wonderful Dallas for her birth-day, this is for you, as LTFF seems to have died on me. Hope this doesn't fall too short of your liking, though it might not be _Birds Of Prey_. ). The idea of leaving someone unsatisfied being a good thing was inspired by my Ducky - - Love you babe!

**SUMMERY**: Faith gets sick of life with Wood and is hired as a 'Special Correspondent' to the New Counsel. When an assignment takes her to Rome, she realizes that not just the weather is hot in "The City Without Age".

**Summery Part One**: Faith arrives in Rome to begin her questioning of Buffy about her recent life-style choices, who then takes Faith to dinner where she gets drunk. They get attacked by a Vamp, steal his arm, and make out on Buffy's couch – an event which Buffy puts a sudden stop to, much to Faith's disappointment and confusion. READ ON!

.

"**Roman Holiday**"

**Chapter Two**: _Sights, Tastes, and Feelings_

The night was already becoming light, and Faith woke with pains in her stomach. She had to pee, badly. It seemed that all the drinking had taken its revenge. Getting up slowly, she felt a little unbalanced from the aftermath of the drinks she'd had. She was thankful for her Slayer healing; the sick-feeling wouldn't last long. Quietly padding her way to the bathroom attached to the Blonde's room, she did her best not to wake the older girl.

When Faith came back out, indenting to head for bed, she found her self immobilized by the sight of the blonde as she slept. To most people, the sight would have been pretty simple; monotonous and uninteresting.

She slept with her arms wrap around the pillow under her head, a simple white tank top covering her bronzed shoulders, eyes closed and body still as her even breathing was the only noise in the room. She was sleeping, and peacefully.

After the time she'd spent in the Summers' house at what **had** to it's worst, she knew this had to be one of the most welcome things to Buffy. Something she would never miss about Sunnydale. At least here, she could sleep.

Faith smiled, sadly, though she doubted anyone would know the difference even if they could see it in the dim-light of Buffy's room. She thought about what had happened before she was put to bed. The kisses; they had been everything she'd imagined them to be and then some.

Sure, it wasn't that whimsical kind of love like you'd hear about in Fairy-Tales where they fall in love the first time they set eyes on each-otherâ the first time Buffy set eyes on her, Faith knew perfectly well that the blonde didn't like her one bit. She wished she could say the same, but she was too curiously fascinated by the prospect of hanging out with another Slayer to really be bothered by her up-tight and prissy attitude.

Nah, Faith had realized she was in love with Buffy after a lot of therapy. She'd originally been sent for possible post-traumatic-stress, and violent-tendencies (which were often self-destructive). She's had a break-through with her slightly desensitized prison therapist about nine months before she'd broken out of prison to help the Fang Gang. She'd been talking to the doctor, telling him '_how she **felt**_' about the little blonde.

They'd been working on this topic for about seven sessions already after he'd noticed that the woman's name came up in almost every talk they had anyway. And just as her doctor asked her to analyze some feeling she'd had even further, for what must have been the thousandth time, she snapped. Snidely asking him "_Oh yeah? What do **you** think I feel about her?!_". He just looked at her, sighed, and took a note on his pad of paper (no doubt saying she was trying resist treatment again), and replied,

"_I think you feel a great deal for her, but particularly love._"

To say Faith thought long and hard on that comment before responding could not have been more un-Faith-like. In fact, the doctor was surprised her brain had enough time to fire neurons in the fraction of a second it took her to break his nose. She remembered she'd never been more offended in her life! It took three guards and a needle of who-knows-what to tear her off and drag her into isolation. Truth be told, she barely had enough time to realize the doctors meaning before she jumped the man, but Solitary gave her plenty of time for thinking.

Genetically, Faith and drugs didn't mix. Both her and her father tended to have pretty violent reactions to strong mixtures; part of why she was so scared of the dentist when she was young; Novocain used to make her whole head go numb. And ever since she'd become a Slayer it had only become worse. So when the doctors gave her drugs like these, not only did she pass-out but she passed out for days, her dreams often terribly frightening and consisting of some of her worst memories. She slept for nearly two days, at least - as far as she could tell.

When she woke up, she still had three days left in the dark room to her self. Leaning against the cold, rough wall, probably painted the same dull yellow-white color every other surface was in prison, she was left to mull over what the doctor had said. But this time, she thought about it differently; as if to say '_If I **did** love her, how would these memories be different?_'

The next three days had their highs and lows, as this was the sole thought during her visit to Solitary. She realized that at first, all she felt was annoyance for Buffyâ until she realized that simply **being** a Slayer gave Buffy reason enough to like her, even if they disagreed about just about everything else. When she'd been confronted by Buffy about Khakistos, and when she realized Buffy knew she'd lied to her it was then that the blonde wanted to help her the most – knew that Faith was like her sometimes; afraid. And in the end, almost died trying to help her slay the vampire.

_That was when things had really changed_, she realized. When she staggered out of the cold dark cell after her five-day-stint, hobbling to the shower on weak legs from sitting and laying down for too long, she said nothing. Even the guards noticed her adjustment; no smart-remarks, she didn't even try and stretch her muscles. As they watched her take her shower and led her back to the cell, all the officers exchanged glances. They knew Faith was not a prisoner to be taken lightlyâ But here she was, almost Zombie-like.

She simply stood under the water, eyes closed, the tears running down her cheeks invisible to the drops already making their way to her chin and down the drain. She went back to her cell and sat quietly, still thinking about every thing that'd happened between Buffy and herself – there was a lot to think about. She'd lost all Yard-privileges for a month, and wrote a letter to her Therapist asking him to reconsider their sessions. She told him she wanted to ask him a few questions about his last '_diagnosis_'.

Offering to be detained during sessions and even have a guard present, eventually the doctor agreed. To say that there was a distinct transformation in Faith after that would not do justice to the turn-around Faith'd had. When asked why by her Doctor, who was still slightly mistrusting of her even after his nose healed, he was shocked by her answer. "_I got a Girl to talk to on the out-side. Don't wanna disappoint her again . . . I think we're both pretty sick of that by now_".

Faith smirked as she looked down at Buffy while she slept, early morning light starting to make its way into the room. She looked at the clock as she realized she'd been just standing there for almost 20 minutes, lost in thought. Taking one last deep breath in, she made a decision. It had taken her a lot of time to come to the realization that she loved Buffy, and when she finally told her, she didn't even bother to consider if she meant it. '_Its time for another change_,' she decided, '_I guess I'll have to make sure she can tell I was saying it of my own free will._'

She silently walked back to her couch, settling lightly on it. Feeling her stomach gurgle slightly, Faith winced. **_No More Grappa!_**, she swore to her self. She decided there would be no more getting drunk in foreign countries; it was bad enough when it happened to her in the US. Leaning her head back against the back of the couch and closing her eyes, she tried to prepare herself for what was sure to be a weird couple of days.

While in the Summers house before the End of Sunnydale, she'd allowed herself to indulge a little in being honest with Buffy. She'd have to do more than indulge; not an easy transition. Last time she tried to open up to Buffy, out on that porch when Buffy'd been excommunicated from her own house, she'd panicked and latched on to Wood in a desperate attempt to lick her wounds. _Man_, she thought, _that relationship got way out of hand_. She silently chuckled to herself, not even noticing she was nodding off to sleep. She didn't even hear the shower in the next room start.

.

Faith woke again with a start, and a yelp. Sitting up suddenly when she'd heard a clatter nearby, she'd moved her neck. Having slept with her neck at that odd angle had left it stiff and sore. Closing her eyes and muttering to herself, she heard familiar giggles. Slowly opening her eyes again, she leaned forward to see Buffy standing in her small kitchenette with the glass roasting pan.

"Sleep well?" she asked, looking pleased with herself. Faith flipped her off, grinning sourly. She reeled it back in, remembering what she'd agreed she needed to do now. Buffy must have noticed the sheepish look on her face because she walked over to the brunette and ruffled her hair affectionately. She slapped the blonde's hand away.

"Stop it." she grunted, rubbing her stiff neck. "What happened to the arm?"

"Dust." Buffy stated, pointing vaguely to the roasting pan, "Guess that means the rest of him is too. Must have bled to death, judging by the amount of blood in the pan." She trailed off, looking at her slightly blood-stained porch as though simply trying to figure out how to get a wine stain out of white carpet.

"Soap and club-soda should do the trick. If that still doesn't work, work in a little baking-soda and it should come right out." Faith stated dryly, cracking her neck loudly.

"Alright, but go take a shower. Then get dressed in something good for walking in the heat." Faith sighed, doing as she was told. A few minutes later when she came back, Buffy had to hold in a laugh. The younger woman had to be wearing the oddest array of clothes she'd ever seen. She wore long, chunky cargo-shorts, motorcycle boots with no socks, and a t-shirt that was about the same size as the tank-top she wore the night before. Drying her hair, Faith looked at her as if to say '_What did I do now?_'.

"Faith, it's going to be hot out! It's nearly noon!" she said, allowing herself a few laughs, "Can't you just wear a skirt? For **once** in your life?" she asked good-naturedly, even offering to lend Faith one of hers. The brunette made a face and looked like she could think of nothing worse. "Come on Faith, you're going to get heat-stroke! And they don't look **that** bad; I'm sure I could find one you'd look cute in."

"I don't like the breeze." She said sounding un-settled.

"If you're worried about the wind lifting it up I can fine you one that won't? It can even be tight and form-fitting like the rest of your clothes?" she said playfully, but Faith looked at the floor.

"I didn't mean it like that," she mumbled, "I meant the **_breeze_**" she said, pointing her finger towards the ceiling but lowing her hand. Buffy's eyes widened when she finally got what she was saying.

"Oh. . . . Well, Faith it's not that bad. Besides, underpants really – "

"I didn't bring any." She interjected quietly.

"You didn't . . . ?" she said slowly. Faith just gave her a hard look. "Why?"

"Because." She said simply, tossing her used towel onto the couch where Buffy had folded her blankets and stacked her pillows, "All my 'Form Fitting' pants would have panty-lines, so I didn't bring any with meâ I wouldn't need them."

"You know, you can remedy that by wearing seamless-underpants or thongs." Faith made a face again.

"Thongs? They're so trashy."

"You know what else is considered trashy?" she said smiling, "Too much leather and overly tight clothes." Again, Buffy received the brunette's hard look, but it did nothing to stop her slight giggles. She simply shrugged. "Alright. Stick with that, but you're gonna get hot."

"Are you kidding, I'm already hot!" she said flirtatiously, "Caliente!" she said with a small shake of her behind. Buffy just shook her head, a look Faith didn't recognize to match her half-grin.

"Multo Caldo indeed." She said as she grabbed her purse and headed to the door. Faith frowned.

"Cold? Shit, you're lying – I look damn good in this!" Buffy just shook her head again, and held the door for Faith.

"Just walk, Faith." She said, gently shoving the girl forward. They walked a few blocks before the younger girl had to wipe her brow. It was hot, **really** hot, and she needed something to drink. As if reading her mind, Buffy turned in to a small corner store, and greeted the man inside in Italian. While she ordered something from the small coffee bar, Faith looked around. Finding a cooler, she grabbed an awkwardly shaped bottle of water.

Turning to look back to where Buffy was, she saw that the blonde was having a conversation with the older Italian man that had made her drink. They were both standing there, looking at her, obviously speaking about her, which was more than just a little unnerving.

The man then said something to Buffy that Faith couldn't understand, but it caused Buffy to look indignant and slap the man's shoulder as he laughed. Faith chuckled. Heading over to the small counter with her drink, she saw the large array of cigarettes on the wall. Some were as little as 2,50 Euros a pack. You'd have to be dumb not to know that was a good deal.

"Can I have this," she said holding up the bottle in her hand, "And a pack of Luckys, filtered." The man smiled and handed her the pack and a box of wooden matches. Asking for four Euros, Faith paid the man. She didn't even see Buffy come to stand next to her until the small hand picked up her fresh pack.

'_Excuse me?!_' was all Buffy's look could have said, visibly unhappy with Faith's purchase. Faith just shrugged.

"What?" she said, defending herself, "These would cost more than six dollars in Boston or New York! This is the best deal I've heard in years! I'mma buy a bunch of cartons before I head back to England." She said confidently.

"Well, you sure will fit in here." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, B, I'll smoke on the balcony – or not at all in your apartment if you want?" Buffy just chuckled.

"Faith, the air in this country is so thick with smoke, my apartment smells like it anyways. Besides, every guest I've ever had there smokes. So that's not the problem; I just don't understand why you'd want to." Faith just shrugged. Truth be told, she'd really started in prison; gave her something to do.

"Alright, well, as long as it doesn't piss you off too much." The blonde tossed a Euro coin on the counter and they left, Buffy giving the coffee vender one last short glare as they left. They walked a few more blocks, Faith sipping from her funny-shaped-water-bottle and her Luckys burning until they rounded a corner and Faith saw a sign for a McDonalds.

"Hey, B!" she said excitedly, "Can we go in to the McDs?" Buffy looked at her like she wasn't sure if she was kidding. She wasn't.

"Faith, you're in a country **famous** for it's delicious and unique food, and you want McDonalds?" she asked incredulously. Faith rolled her eyes but nodded. "â Why?" Buffy asked, not sure she wanted to know.

"Because, in every country I go, I eat at one. They have some of the best maps you can find in some places, and they mark all the McD's in the city; so if you stay near one, it's easy to find your way home with the map." Buffy seemed surprised that's he actually had a good argument. "Besides! I had a Lamb-Burger in one when I was in Israel, I wanna see what they have in Italian meals that they don't have in the US." Buffy just laughed and nodded, waving her down the street.

Buffy was shocked Faith even stopped to notice the famous 2,000-year-old building across the street from her. Faith turned to look back at her, slightly wide-eyed. She looked from the building, to the McDonalds across the street, and back to the impending building. She back tracked back to Buffy and turned to ask her.

"I'mma go out on a limb here and guess that's what we came here to see?" Buffy nodded. ". . . Why isn't in a museum?" she asked, a little confused as to why it was just out there and exposed like that. Buffy just chuckled.

"What? Build a building around a building? They don't do that in Rome; it's part of the city. People congregate here anyways. Besides, the building's still in use." Now, that DID shock Faith. Suddenly she was a lot less interest in McDonalds as the blonde started walking towards the large domed structure.

"What is it?" Faith asked, surprised when she reached out to touch one of the giant pillars and she wasn't smashed down by a security guard instantly.

"This is the Pantheon. A temple built in the first century AD, turned into a church about 600 years later . . . some Christians claimed to be plagued by Demons when they walked by it, so they were given permission to disband it and turn it into 'A House For God'. But that's not the really cool part about it." she said tugging the girl inside. Once indoors, Faith's eyes widened.

All around there were beautiful paintings, a perfectly round dome as a ceiling, marble sculptures, and when Faith looked to the top she saw – there was a hole in the roof. Again, a perfect circle, in the exact center of the dome. She looked around and realize that the hole provided the only light in the temple. Buffy told her it was called "the Oculus", which made the structural integrity of the whole dome work.

"So," Faith said slowly, smiling at the blonde next to her – it was obvious the blonde had been here dozens of times, yet she still looked around as though fascinated. "Come here often?" she said playfully. Buffy just nudged her, smirking.

"Only a lot." She said laughing.

"This your favorite place, or something?" she asked, genuinely curious. Buffy shook her head. "Where's that?" she asked, but Buffy didn't say anything so Faith tried again, "B, where's your favorite place in the city?"

"I'll show you another day. I think you'd like it." she said quietly, moving to stand in the ring of light cast on the floor. Faith joined her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. They both smiled. "Ready to get that Big Mac?" she asked smiling up at the hole in the roof. Faith nodded.

After lunch, they did some more walking, saw a few more smaller, local sights as they made their way back to the apartment once it had gotten dark. All the while Buffy seemed to know loads of little details about everything they passed whether it was a building, a fountain, or a even the designs of the buildings. Although Faith was interested, she was more fascinated by **how** Buffy knew all this rather than the facts themselves.

"B, why the fuck do you know this?" she asked laughing as Buffy told her a funny story about a large set of doors they passed. Buffy just shrugged. "What? Did you read every travel book you could find before you got here or something?"

"Nah, before I knew enough Italian to be a waitress, I was an English-speaking tour-guide for Hotels with lots of American and Japanese tourists. But first I had to go on just about every tour I could find to learn everything I'd have to teach the people I dragged around the city. Like her." she said, pointing to a rather severe woman walking along, blowing a whistle and holding an umbrella as high in the air as she could reach. Both girls chuckled at the sight. "Your arms get **really** tired, even if you _are_ a Slayer."

They had dinner, they even had drinks – Buffy did, Faith didn't. And Buffy even joined her in a cigarette . . . which she choked on and then swore to never try again. Faith was not shocked when she asked her for another a hour later as they went home, having seen Faith blow a perfect smoke ring. It took nearly a quarter of a pack, but she finally got it down.

Faith was tired, dead tired, the day of walking in the hot sun had worn her out – heck, even eating seemed to wear her out! As she and Buffy settled in to watch some crazy Indian soap-opera on Mute, trying to figure out what was going on, Faith leaned back, and slowly fell asleep to the noise of the occasional mumbling from the blonde, usually "**What** the f-â _Huh_?!".

Mission-status: Failure. At least, for that day it had been. She'd been flirty, she'd been nice, she'd even been caught checking out the blonde's butt, but still the _Littlest Slayer that Could_ seemed completely ignorant. And probably worst of all, the subject of the night before hadn't even come up **once**, which was what she had been expecting. She thought it might be easier to break the ice. No luck. It hadn't come up once . . . dammit. And she was getting sick of it.

So when Faith woke up a few hours later, still on Buffy's bed, it took her brain a few seconds to catch up. She was fully dressed, leaning back against the pillows pressed to the head-board. Her side of the bed was still made, a blanket thrown over Faith with delicate care, pulled all the way up to her shoulders. On the other half of the bed Buffy slept soundly under the covers, curled up facing the edge of the bed, still gripping the pillow under her head. _All that's missing is her sucking her thumb_, Faith thought to herself.

As she watched the older woman, she was no longer angry that Buffy was choosing to ignore what'd happened the night before. She looked even more beautiful than she had the night before. One of her little white tank-top's traps was slipping off her dark bronzed shoulder, showing the heavy contrast between the fabric and her smooth porcelain-like skin. Reaching out without thinking, she ran her fingertips over the smooth and warm shoulder poking out from the thin covers.

The way Buffy stirred made Faith realize just how out-of-bounds her doing this was. Shocking her back into reality, she realized that if Buffy woke up and found her, touching her so affectionately, she'd have a number of questions to answer to. And although she wanted to tell Buffy how she felt, she was not sure this would have been the best way to get the ball rolling. "_Yes, Buffy, I like touching you while you're sleeping. That's when it's best; when you don't know I'm doing it and you can't stop me. And – oh! – by the way; I'm in love with you._" No. That wouldn't work.

"B?" Faith asked gently, changing her light touches on the blonde's shoulder into a gentle grip as she tried to shake her awake. "B, wake up. Come on, wake-up." Buffy's eyes blinked open, and she rolled over lightly.

"What's the matter?" Buffy asked, nearly fully awake, a slightly worried look on her face.

"B," Faith said gently, but her face was starting to harden with resolve. "You know I didn't drink tonight, right?" Buffy's brows knitted and she nodded, "Well . . . I still love you." She said as though answering some deeper question. She moved her hand to gently run the backs of her knuckles down the pink cheek of this powerful woman, both in strength and in Faith's heart. Buffy did not look as pleased. She knocked Faith's hand away from her face and scowled a little.

"You can never be wrong, can you?" she asked sounding annoyed. "You can never be less than correct, can you? You're pride is going to get you killed one day, you know that Faith?!" now she was really confused.

"B, what are you talking about? I just – "

"I know what you just did Faith, and I don't think it's funny, and I don't appreciate it." she angrily pulled herself up so that she was now level with the brunette, "I hate it when you do this!" she fumed.

"You say something, you're proven wrong, and you'll do whatever it takes to prove that in some way you were in the right or it wasn't your fault. Well, you know what Faith? You should have let it go, I knew it wasn't you're fault for saying that – you were drunk! Faith, I've said some pretty dumb thing when I was passed-five." She looked like she was about to break something. Faith didn't know what to do.

"B, look, I'm telling you,"

"You're telling me you **_love me_**, Faith!" she almost yelled, "I know you may not take that too seriously, but I do! Those words mean a lot to me, I don't take them lightly and the fact that you're just throwing them around like its nothing upsets me." She looked so disappointed Faith felt a small pang of guilt in her chest, "Faith please just stop. If this is a pride thing then just know that all this pushing isn't going to make me think any better of you, it makes me think less . . . but if you're doing this just to make you feel better, then there's proof enough that you're really lying."

With that the look of Disgust on the blonde's face made Faith feel so empty inside. It was pointed at her, and that alone made her feel like whatever made her feel whole and alive had slowly dissolved to nothing. True, she knew the look was pointed at her because the older woman didn't understand, but still. She was so set on not believing her, she wondered how she would get Buffy to understand that this was how she really felt. Maybe she never would.

"Buffy." Faith said, looking down at her lap, stammering slightly as she tried to figure out what to say, "I'm . . . I guess I'm sorry I upset you." Faith finished lamely. Not sure how to continue, she just decided to shut her mouth and keep quiet. No sooner had she decided to dot hat did Buffy raise a petite hand to her cheek, a small and sad smile to her lips.

"I know you are Faith." She said simply. Running her hand down until her fingertips ran down her chin, she sighed, "Go to sleep Faith. Tomorrow's going to be ever hotter. I'll try and keep things slow and simple, but still try and rest." Faith re-positioned herself on the bed, rearranging her slightly squashed pillows so that she could lay flat, as Buffy followed suit. But this time as she laid down facing Faith, the brunette felt like it would be a long time before she fell into sleep.

The next morning started a bit later than Faith had expected. Buffy had brought her a very strong coffee with foamed milk to start her off. The little cherry and chocolate pastry didn't hurt either. They sat in Buffy's kitchen, nearly silent, both eating their breakfast. Buffy was having a strange smelling tea with a bit of milk and what looked like a chocolate filled pastry in the shape of a clam. when Faith told her what it looked like, she told her just to try and it shut the brunette up ... right after Buffy shot her down after asking if she could have the rest of it.

When Buffy went to change in her room and came out with a small stack of clothes for Faith, both girls were surprised. Buffy was surprised that Faith actually put them on without a fight, and that Faith actually didn't hate them enough not to wear them.

It consisted of a thin red tank-top and a pair of white-khaki shorts. granted that both these garments belonged to Buffy meant there were a little small and a little tight on Faith and you could see her black bra through the fabric. Suddenly the blonde realized why she didn't hate them. she'd also talked Faith into borrowing a pair of underpants to wear under them. She'd agreed, but Buffy still wasn't sure if she'd actually done it...

Once out-side Buffy called them over a cab, which they hopped into and Buffy gave the instruction. If Faith had to guess what she'd said, she thought they were headed into the Spanish Quarter, but it was quite different actually. It didn't look much different, except for the fact that it seemed like it had been modernized a bit. Buffy stopped them out-side what looked like a house, or possibly the entrance into a small business, but once they walked through the walls stopped being carved marble, and became old, like clay, and there was a smell.

"B..." Faith asked wearily, slightly recognizing the looming smell "Why does it smell like death in here?". Buffy just put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled a little.

"I can't think of _anyone_ who'd appreciate this more than you. Everyone i've told about this can't quite grasp it or they run out of here nearly puking." Faith raised an eye brow. "Trust me Faith, Spike told me about this place years ago, said this was something any Slayer in Rome had to see. So that includes you." she added smiling widely.

As they passed through a dark brown burlap curtain there was a small group of people inside. The smell was stronger, and their heightened Slayer senses picked up on the fact that this was old death, but the smell was not super-natural, this was human death. As Faith moved forward to try and look at some of the things sold in the small room, she realized this was some kind of church. They sold rosary beads and wooden cross necklaces ranging is sizes from very small and delicately carved to 80s-rapper-fashion-feu-pah.

"NO!" a man yelled at her as she tried to pass him, "Not Free! NOT FREE!" he yelled, sounding very annoyed. he'd grabbed Faith's arm, which had slightly shocked the brunette. she nodded as if to say '_Yeah, i know, this is a store, you have to pay for it_'. she removed his hand and rubbed her arm lightly. he'd had a tight grip, and it sort of shocked her.

Buffy stepped up next to her and handed them man a five-Euro note and linked arms with Faith. The man then smiled widely, a large fake grin spread over his face. His teeth were darkly yellowed, with hints of green that made Faith wonder if this man had ever even seen a toothbrush before in his life. But considering the younger girl had been in Italy for thee days now and this was the first less than kind person she'd encountered, that was still a huge stack in the plus column.

"Technically, it _is_ free, but they need money in order to keep the exhibit running. The man, he deals with a lot of rude people, but still... he's a jerk, he's like that to everyone." With that she led Faith through a small door off to the side with iron grating along the side of the passageway. Not more than three feet into the little tunnel and Faith's eyes bugged almost out of her head.

"SHIT, B!" Faith almost yelled, 'causing the rude old man to yell at her in Italian, no doubt cursing, "What the **fuck** _is_ **this**?!" that just made Buffy laugh as she watched the play of emotions on the brunette's face. Her upper lip curled in disgust and her eye brows knitted. her nose curled slightly from realizing what the smell was, and Buffy just watched.

They had entered a chapel of the Padres Cappucco, the sign over the small alter had said so.

"The whole church is like this." Buffy said quietly, "Their called 'the white hatted fathers'. They're how Cappuccinos got their name. because they wore brown robes with small white hats under their hoods. But, the problem was, they had lots of brothers and many members, but so little room and even less money. they didn't have enough space to burry their dead and to build private chapels to worship in, not to mention money they'd need to decorate them. So, they killed three birds with one stone..."

The small room, which couldn't have been larger than ten feet by fifteen, had a dirt floor with several crosses inserted into the ground, and a large grate in front of it to keep the visitors from disturbing the long sleeping monks. But the disturbing part was, the monks weren't buried. But that wasn't all. the bodies had been taken apart, and the pieces were used to create designs and patterns on the floor, walls, ceiling.

Even the alter was made entirely of Dead Monk Parts. The legs of the table made of Femur bones and the table top of rows of spinal column and shoulder-blades. They'd turned the walls into shelves where the bodies of some whole monks rested in open air. the ornate Fixtures around the back wall were made by stacking skulls and arm and leg bones, almost like Log Cabin play-sets. the whole things was more than just a little disturbing.

"...Sweet." Faith said slowly, a wicked smile creeping up the side of her face. Buffy chuckled and smiled, to which Faith ruffled the blonde's hair. "Well, you sure picked the right girl to come here with." she said. Buffy nodded and pulled her to see the next room. there were four in total, all of which had their own unique kind of weirdness.

The last room was Faith's favorite. On the ceiling there was the body of either a very small monk, or possibly a child, symbolizing the Angel Of Death, complete with scales and Scythe made of legs, shoulder-blades and finger bones. On their way out, Faith bought a set of post-cards from the rude man. He wagged his finger at her and growled something in Italian, to which Faith turned to Buffy for a translation.

"He basically said that if you swear in a church you're gonna be damned to hell forever." She explained walking a little ways up the block. Faith just scoffed.

"Please, if i'm going to Hell, it'll be for much worse than swearing in church." they both just laughed, and kept walking.

"You up for a late lunch?" Buffy said, checking her watch and seeing that it was about 2:00.

"B, when have you ever known me NOT to be hungry? Honestly. there's just hungry, and extra hungry." Buffy smiled and kept walking up the small curving hill.

"I just thought that maybe after that you might not be too eager to eat." she defended laughing.

"Please!" Faith dismissed, "Nothing has ever made me lose my appetite to date. But there are things that **_make_** me want food. two things in particular, in fact..." she said, tapering off into a flirtatious tone. Buffy looked at her through the corner of her eye, a slight smirk in place.

"Well, the entire Scooby-Gang knows what _one_ of those things are, my self included... do i even want to ask what the other is?" Faith just grinned more and shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts.

"That's all a vicious circle. Slaying makes me hungry and horny, Eating gets me a little hot if the foods good enough, and makes me antsy, so it makes me want to use up my energy either Slaying or fucking... all those feelings just feed on each-other." she noticed that Buffy had stopped walking, staring at her in humor and disbelief, shaking her head slightly.

"You're the queen of temperance, Faith, you know that?" Faith looked at her confused. "Plato and Socrates would have been proud, oh Philosopher Queen." Buffy said going into a deep, fake bow.

"What the fuck are you blabbering on about?" Faith asked, trying to catch up as the blonde started walking again. Buffy just chuckled and started walking backwards so she could talk to the girl more directly.

"Plato and Socrates designed a plan for a Utopia in which there were these people that ran the state called Philosopher Kings. They had to have certain qualities in oder to become good rulers, that they had been honing and perfecting all their lives. there were four, i don't remember what all of them were, but what they valued more than anything was Temperance." Faith's eyebrows climbed slightly. _Buffy's read philosophy?_, Faith wondered, _since when did that happen?_

"What do you mean by temperance?"

"It means... self sacrificing, but more than that. It means you do things in moderation, especially things that you may want to do, but you already know will yield bad results." Faith just scoffed.

"Yeah, i'll get right on that. B, does that sound like me at all? When have i ever lived in moderation, or done things i don't want to?" Buffy just looked at her sympathetically.

"I know. But they say that it help makes a more complete, happier person."

"How could not doing what you want make you a happier person."

"Because when you do everything your will wants when it tells you to, soon you become a slave to your wants... you'll lose self-control. someone who can control their desires is a happier person on the whole, even if it means they have to give up what they want sometimes." Just as Faith was about to respond with the highly witty and deep response of 'Oh yeah? Well thats bull-shit!', she saw the sign above the door that Buffy was holding open for her with a grin.

"Hard Rock Cafe!" she said happily, looking up at the unmistakable sign, "Oh, Yes!" she said heading inside quickly. Turning to face Buffy suddenly, she had a sudden thought. "What ever happened to all your righteousness about how I'm in Italy, i should be eating Italian food 'cause blah blah blah?"

"Hey, i love American food. in fact, hanging out with you has made me realize i actually really miss it." the expression on the blonde's face changed slightly to something Faith couldn't quite pin down to a word. "Whatta ya think? Burger... fries... maybe a beer, what do you say?" Faith's smile slowly sank into a honest grin at realizing there was something here; Buffy was asking her something. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted it.

"Yeah. Sure, that sounds... pretty nice." they nodded, and a woman took them to a table. As they ate they talked about a lot of little things, traded stories about vampires they'd killed, places they'd been to or visited.

Faith was surprised that Buffy actually did have a beer with her lunch. Faith had one too, deciding that one would be fine, it wouldn't make her drunk, and Buffy would know it. There was something about the whole thing that made Faith so clam, like it was the most natural thing in the world. like they were old friends instead of old enemies. But then a grin came to her face as she remembered that before they were ever enemies, they _were_ friends.

After eating their lunch and paying the bill they made their way back out-side and back down the hill, towards the church they'd just left and further down a little ways. As they walked they didn't say much but both seemed perfectly alright with it. a number of time their hands brushed as they walked along together, and each time Faith had the urge to just take Buffy's hand into hers. She wasn't sure why, it was a fairly simple and polite form of showing affections, and it was entirely not her style. but she still wanted to.

"What was the last movie you saw, Faith?" Buffy asked. the brunette thought about it, curious.

"I dunno. why do you ask?" Buffy had just stopped and shrugged, a mysterious smile to her lips. "Uh... _Spiderman 2_ i think."

"I haven't seen that one. Granted i saw the first one under protest, Xander asking Willow and i to go with him 'cause he didn't want to be the only person there over the age of eleven." Buffy took her hand this time and led her through a pair of doors. Suddenly Faith found herself in the lobby of movie theater. It was quickly becoming obvious that nothing here was what it seemed.

"Would you mind seeing it again?" Buffy asked, still holding her hand, "I haven't seen it, and it's really funny watching movies in other languages." she said, as a way of enticement. That's when faith saw that all the adds for the films were in Italian. "Think you can explain the parts i don't get to me?" she asked. Faith thought about ti for a second, them smiled, nodding.

"So, if the movie gonna be in Italian?" Faith asked as they walked towards the box-office.

"Yeah, with german sub-titles." she looked at the times of the films and stood on her tip-toes to see over a man's shoulder. "They play movies in english one week-end every month. But they're usually older films, more famous ones. I saw _Silence Of The Lambs_ here last month. I love that film." When they got up to the counter Buffy bought their tickets for them, and then started to head back out of the theater again, to which faith simply followed.

"Faith, our movie doesn't start for another hour, so we have some time to kill. I thought maybe you'd like to go next-door and check in with Willow, or Giles?" she said, offering. "Also, i'd kind of like to check my E-mail too; we don't have internet at the house." faith just nodded and followed her, showing her how InternetTrain worked.

"I'll give you some privacy." she said, walking further back into the store, picking a computer towards the back." Faith sat down and signed in to MSN Messenger. almost instantly she got a note from Willow.

**RedWitch81**: Faith, where is your report?

**SWAT1Slayer**: I'm working on it. I'm also on vacation, remember?

**RedWitch81**: Yeah, Faith, after you're done with the report!

**SWAT1Slayer**: Why not both at once? besides, don't you think that if i make nice she's more likely to tell me things?

**RedWitch81**: Faith, you're report was due **today**. I Still want it on my desk by the end of today; is that clear?

**SWAT1Slayer**: yeah, it's crystal clear, but it's not gonna happen. I haven't even finished the interview.

**RedWitch81**: WHAT?! Faith, if i don't have the paper on my desk by the time your 5 days are up, I'm tele-porting you here to give your report in person, is that clear?

**SWAT1Slayer**: yes mother...

They continued on like that for a while, Willow asking her questions and Faith giving minimal answers. she told her Dawn was fine, on a school trip in Florence, she told her that Buffy was no longer seeing the Immortal and it was her doing. she told her what she'd seen so far and what they'd done. It was pretty obvious that Willow was jealous.

She'd never been to Italy before, and she'd always wanted to go -- that was no Scooby-secret. It also seemed that she was more than just a bit jealous of what Faith and Buffy had been up to. it was obvious that Willow was missing Buffy, even if she loved living with Kennedy and life if Rio.

Faith said she ought to take some time off and see the sights for herself, that it seemed like just the place for Willow to vacation. Willow brushed it off, saying Kennedy hated Italian food (and Buffy), and she didn't think it'd be polite to go on a vacation without her girl-friend. Faith just told her not to completely reject the idea, keep her options open.

A little while later Faith felt a tap on her shoulder, to find Buffy standing behind her, saying she'd finished and she'd be having a coffee at the bar in the front of the little cafe. Faith nodded sayings he was almost done. quickly telling Willow good bye and signing off before the redhead could get a word in, she pulled her little card out of the computer and tucked it into her wallet.

Since the blonde had paid for the tickets, faith decided she'd buy them their food at the movies. _Buffy sure would be a cheep date_, Faith thought as she looked at the older girls water and small pop-corn, _i dunno how she can eat so little_... Faith herself had gotten red-vines and a large pop-corn/soda combo that even came with a free toy. It was a little plastic sling-shot the broke the third time faith tried to use it, flinging popcorn at Buffy. they both laughed about it.

Stepping into the theater they saw that it was almost empty. the only people in there were a german couple, sitting in the far back and chatting about something they both couldn't understand. other than that, only three people, singles, sitting in random spots in the tiny little theater. Sitting down towards the screen, they settled in.

Once the movie started, Faith couldn't stop laughing at the dubbing they'd done on the movie. Every time someone talked, she'd bust a gut laughing. Buffy would shove her a little, but also giggle herself. all the mens voices were smokey and deep, and all the women had high voices and all sounded exactly the same. they were having a lot of fun.

Once the action started to lull, and it got into the mushy introspective scenes that every super-hero movie gets, faith started to get a little bored. she knew the gist of it, but she couldn't understand the words this time around. Looking at Buffy she saw that she was actually watching it. _yeah_, Faith thought, _'cause she understands it_. admiring the concentrating look on the blondes face, and idea came to the younger girls mind. a sly and playful grin marring the brunette's lips, she gave a deep, fake yawn and stretched her arms high over her head.

Buffy only glanced in her direction, but the small twitch of a smile on her face wasn't missed by Faith even in the dark of the room. As she let her arm fall over the back of Buffy's chair, she smiled to herself, thinking that Buffy would give her a look and slap her arm away, giving ample distraction until the action bits picked up again. No such luck.

"Slick moves Faith," Buffy said quietly, still watching the movie, "Xander teach you that one?" Faith gasped in mock out-rage.

"Yes! Why?" she said playfully. They both just chuckled, and then went back to watching the film. without even realizing it, faith's really had slipped down off the back of the seat, and on to Buffy's shoulders.

When she'd realized it'd happened, and she looked to see if the older girl had noticed, it seemed that she hadn't. she still just sat there, watching, a small smile on her face. Seeing no reason to move it, she just left it there. As the huge action scene started and they seemed to settle in to the movie again, little else breeching their consciousness, both of them realized how comfortable they were.

It struck Faith as kind of odd that as they did these small things that were supposed to be sort of awkward when shared the first time, that they came off quite easily. their first kisses a few nights ago, sharing lunch or dinner, going to the movies, even sitting quietly together over breakfast and the morning paper. Faith had expected more resistance. But then she remembered; Buffy refused to believe her when she told her that she'd loved her. _That's more than enough resistance, i think_, Faith decided.

"What the hell?" Faith asked as the lights suddenly came on and the movie stopped right in the middle of the film. "What are they doing?" Faith asked Buffy.

"It's intermission. there's a five minute break in the middle of the movie so you can get more food or go to the bathroom." Buffy chuckled, "Only American films don't have intermissions, it seems." Faith wasn't so quick to agree, but it seemed like a good idea. they both sat there with no movie to distract them, Faith's arm over Buffy's shoulder, and the brunette couldn't think of anything to say.

"So," Buffy started, a little slow, "What the hell is going on?" she asked, chuckling. "I have no idea what's going on, except Spiderman seems to be sick and that doctor guy is going crazy and robbing banks." Faith smiled and laughed, explaining it to Buffy. just as she finished the lights turned back off and she was shushed by someone a few rows back.

"Ah - you Shush!" she yelled back. Buffy slapped the hand on her shoulder lightly, and but held it in her own. Faith was a little surprised, but didn't mind. they stayed like that for the rest of the film until the younger girl felt a weight on her shoulder. Buffy's head had fallen there, her eyes a little droopy, but determined to stay open. Faith watched her from then on, only looked at the screen every few minutes when there was a loud crash or an explosion. Buffy never fell asleep, but she didn't lift her head either.

the film ended, and people got up, and the two Slayers grabbed their stuff and headed out. they kept walking down the road a ways, at Buffy's lead, down the hill until they saw a large opening down at the bottom; a plaza with a large set of steps. there was a large fountain at it's base where they stood and church at the stop of the huge set of stairs.

"La Scalanata Di'Spania." Buffy said, taking Faith's hand in hers, pulling towards the fountain, "The Spanish Steps. That Building at the top of the stairs used to be the Spanish Embassy back a couple of hundred years ago, before they turned it into a hotel. they paid for the building of the steps, and slowly this became a place for commerce. Slowly over the years this place became **_the_** place for high end stores and expensive shopping. Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabana, all those kinda stores can be found down here. many of them are several stories tall and have glass elevators inside so you can look at the clothes as you change floors." that made Faith laugh.

Around the fountain were many small children, and also a good deal of adults. it was pretty easy to tell who was a tourist and who was a native. All the tourists were standing around it groups, taking pictures, chugging down bottles of water, wearing dopey touristy hats, saying things like "Me Tiamo Roma!". Meanwhile the natives were sitting **_IN_** the fountain, drinking straight out of it, and making funny faces in the back-ground of people's photos.

Buffy pulled her right to the edge of the fountain and put her hands into the cool water. it looked so beautiful, such a perfect light shade of blue, contrasting with the white plaster, marble, and alabaster of the fountain. Buffy patted her wet hands onto the back of her neck, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly as it cooled her. Even in the early evening it was hot, and Faith was quick to follow suit.

"You want to wonder a little, see if there's anything you'd like to buy?" Buffy asked, after taking a sip of the water. Faith made a face.

"I'm really not a Gucci kinda girl, B." Faith said, leaning down to take a sip herself. before the water touched her lips, slayer-fast reflexes stopped her. looking up at Buffy, who's hand clutched her wrists, she shook her head.

"I wouldn't do that unless you want intestinal flu." she warned. Faith un-cupped her hands and stood up again, making a whole different face. "Sorry, but you have to build up a tolerance for the water here. True, since they started renovating all the fountains in the city they've cleaned the water up _a lot_, but still not a good idea... Americans don't have the stomach for it, it seems."

"Thanks for the warning. I only have two days left... wouldn't want to spend them sick." Buffy nodded. "Besides, we still have to finish the interview... i get a threat from Willow." Buffy smiled sadly and nodded.

"Yeah, maybe we should get back to the apartment a little early to get more of that done..." she said trailing off. Faith nodded, wiping her wet hans on her shorts. "Why don't we meander for a while, look at a couple shops, see if there's anything to interest you, and then we can have an early dinner before heading back. Sound good?"

"Sure, i could be up for that." They walked down the road a little ways, passing a myriad of shops, not all of which had high-end designer label. they passed a Monte Blonk store, a store that had-made leather bound books that were guaranteed to last at least 150 years. Then they hit a few stores that were a little more to Faith's taste.

She bought fish-net tank-tops in a few colors, a few pairs of shorts for her to wear so that she didn't have to barrow Buffy's anymore, and a new pair of leather pants, which were dirt cheep.

"They're from Florence, that's why." Buffy explains as she she advised Faith not to try and wear those pants while still in Rome.

"What does where their made have to do with how much they cost?" the brunette asked as she payed for her shopping with her Counsel credit-card. "How do i say thank you?" she asked Buffy quietly.

"Gratzi." Buffy said quickly as Faith repeated it to the attendant. "And it's because Florence is famous for a few key things. it's home to what is expected to be about 70 of renaissance art, amazing food - most notable beef, and lastly leather. they're famous for their tanning and leather work. Have been for hundreds of years." Faith nodded, chuckling.

"I'm guess the beef and leather thing go hand in hand?" Buffy just smiled and and shook her head. "Sounds like my kind of town." Faith said, adjusting her bags as they made their way back towards the steps. It was already starting to get dark, but just mildly. they made their way back a few streets before Buffy took Faith by the elbow and led her down a small side ally.

"Where does this lead?" she asked playfully. Buffy just smiled up at her sweetly. Faith was almost positive she was flirting with her. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, she followed without question. As they walked along for a block Faith suddenly saw what the blonde must have been looking for.

Where as most of the buildings around here were fairly modern, made of metal and plaster and concrete, there was one shop along the narrow street that stuck out like a sore thumb. it was a little wooden hovel of a shop, as though everything else was simply made to build around it seamlessly. In the slowly dimming light on the street, the ward orange light coming from the windows of the shop was welcoming and gave it a home-like feel.

Buffy took her free hand and lead her under the small green and white striped oning, they looked over the menu. Faith could read very little of it, so for the most part she pointed and Buffy told her what it was. Just as Buffy was telling the younger girl that she had to try the summer vegetable risotto, there was a loud, deep, booming voice echoing in the little ally.

"Ah! Signoras!" it was a large rather portly man with a thick mustache standing at the entrance to the restaurant's doors, and he was smiling broadly at them, "Booffy! What are you doing here?" he asked her happily kissing both her cheeks as the other waiter had, though this one seemed better at English, "Where is the little one, i miss her so much, did she leave for that trip?" Buffy laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, Anton she did. she'll be back soon, ready for more of your amazing bread-sticks." they both laughed and he hugged her. "Oh! Anton, this is my good friend Faith, she's visiting me for a few days." he smiled and looked her over in mock seriousness. Faith looked back confidently.

"I like dees one!" he declared, "She ees fiery inside! She has an Italian spirit." she had, cuffing her on the back pretty hard, but then again she was a Slayer. Faith smiled and thanked the man, then turned to smirk at Buffy. "I will get you menus, and bread-sticks, you ladies seet out-side; eet'sa wonderful night."

"Are you sure? we could sit in-side?" Buffy offered.

"No! I insist! Sit, please!" he said happily as he walked off. they both sat down at a small table with a red and white plaid table-clothe. Faith pulled out her half empty pack of Luckys and lit one.

"Man, this shit is straight out of **_Lady & The Tramp_**, B, this is sick." she said laughing and taking a drag. "That guy's pretty cool though... I take it you and Little'D come down here a lot?" Buffy smiled calmly and nodded.

"Dawn loves that book-store i showed you. She wants to be a watcher someday, so she's been writing down everything having to do with Slaying lately. She even stays up late to interview me after patrols some times..." Buffy chuckled and leaned back in her chair, just looking at Faith quietly. Faith looked back, not saying anything, unaware that slowly a grin crept up the corners of her mouth.

"So Faith..." Buffy started, but never finished as just then Anton popped back up with a basket of warm bread-sticks and a small dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

"Enjoy, my piccoli tesori." Buffy laughed where as Faith looked confused. "What weell you have?" Buffy then took off in a huge wave of ordering, after every item Anton would then say Va Bene. at one point Buffy smiled slyly, asking the man to come closer and whispered something in his ear, to which the man smiled wildly and burst into laughter and started cheering.

"Benisimo! Benissimo! Bravo Bravo!" and he quickly jogged off to get whatever it was that they'd ordered.

"What did he call us? and what exactly did you say to him?" Faith asked suspiciously.

"He called us 'Darling Little Ones', and i asked him to get you a nice white wine to go with your risotto, and a small bottle of Vino Rosso to split."

"Uh, B, I'm not so much a wine kind of girl..." she said wearily, not wanting to be rude and just tell her she didn't want it.

"Just try it, if you don't like it, i'll buy you as many beers or shots of Grappa as you want." she said smiling. Faith just blanched slightly at the mention of the 'G-Word'.

"No More Grappa." she vowed, "That stuff side-swiped me. Besides, after the first night... not so sure than drinking is high on my list of things to do." Buffy nodded, but didn't look away like Faith had expected her to.

"That's fine. Drink as much as you like, but i would highly recommend the Vino Rosso." They sat and talked for a while, simple little things, eating their soft bread-sticks, dipping them in the sauce and exchanging stories. Once their food and wine arrived, there was very little talking, but ti was a happy and comfortable silence. Just as they'd finished their meals and had ordered desert coffees a group of musician showed up and asked them if they'd like them to play a song for them.

Faith asked them to play a bunch of songs they didn't know or couldn't play on their instruments. Finally she conceded and asked asked them to play an Italian love song. Oddly enough, they played the song from Lady & The Tramp, which caused both girls too crack up laughing as they listened. the few other customers that'd joined them in the patio of the resteraunt were mostly American as well and knew the song as well. one man, which a surprisingly good voice, even started singing along.

"All we're missing is the Spaghetti!" Faith said chortling. Buffy almost hunched over laughing. when they finished, everyone clapped and Buffy handed him a 5Euro note, and we moved on to the other customers. Faith Smiled, glad that she had had those two glasses of wine, it was just enough to warm her tummy and keep her relaxed when Buffy's leg brushed hers under the table.

"B, how much wine did you have?" she asked playfully, trying to imitate her a little. Buffy just snorted, and recovered.

"About as much as you, maybe a half a glass more." she defended.

"Well if you're at the footsy-stage we'd better get you in bed - quick!" Faith said repeating the blonde's words from the night before.

"It's not the drink, Faith," Buffy assured her, "I think it's just in the air tonight. Look -" she said, pointing over tot he other people in the street and at tables nearby. everyone was paired off, most of them were nestled close, leaning over the table or holding hands. "Love... I think it's an Italian thing." Faith just sort of smiled and admired all the happy people and their others.

"When in Rome" she whispered to herself. Looking down at the table-clothe, she reached across the table and tentatively took Buffy's hand in her own. The small treblings of her fingers must not have been lost on the blonde, because she held it firmly in her own. Once she felt the small thumb run gently along the back of her hand, she knew she had to look up.

"Hey." Buffy whispered, a small smile creeping up the side of her left cheek. taking Faith's hand and running the back of it's fingers against her cheek, she smiled a little more. The didn't even notice Anton standing next to them with their coffee until he cleared his throat. their eyes snapping up to look at him, he had a smug look on his face.

"Ahh yes, a good friend i see, a berry _berry_ good friend." he teased, and left the coffee.

"Anton!" Buffy said indignantly but still laughing.

"Che Cosa, Regatsa? I like her! 'Tough-Stuff', eh?" he said happily as he walked off again. Faith was more than just a little surprised that she was blushing.

"Uhhh, what just happened?" she asked. Buffy smiled sheepishly.

"We got caught. He thinks we're cute and funny, but i have a feeling he's going to be telling Dawny about this at some point." she said, voice effected by the laughter she was trying to hold in. "And he thinks you're butch."

"What?!" she asked indignant. "I am not butch! I'm just... not... Femme-y." Buffy just patted her hand with her free one and put on a sarcastically sympathetic face. "Shut-up B!" she said dipping her fingers into her ice-water and flicking ti at the blonde, who laughed but recovered in time to cover her face with one of the menus.

"All right, all right! I wasn't the one who said it!"

"Yeah yeah yeah..." just then music started up near by, the sound of it drifting through the streets and ally-ways until it reached the ears of the Slayers and the people sitting near by. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's The Gathering, or Il Gruppo. At night teenagers gather at the base of the Spanish Steps and sing, play american music. it's lots of fun, a bunch of American students hang out there."

"Sounds like a party!" Faith said excitedly. Quickly gulping down her amazingly strong coffee and waving her arm to ask Buffy to do the same, Buffy just laughed.

"We still have to get the check, Faith, clam down!" she said, sipping her latta at a sane speed. she waved to Anton, who got the gist and dropped off their check. leaving a few Euro-notes in the folded bill, they left and headed back towards the Steps. Faith trying to lead the way, following the music and trotting along excitedly.

"Faith, calm down! they do this almost every night! besides, if you wanted to go to a club, we can do that tomorrow night, this is pretty small scale." Faith turned around quickly.

"Club?" she asked, her interest peaked, "Where?" Buffy smiled slyly.

"It's a secret." she said teasingly. "That's the whole point of it. it was made so that only the people who have been there know where it is... it's all by word of mouth. trust me, you'll love it." she said, letting her arm slip over Faith's shoulder. "Besides, don't you and i have to get home and finish that thing for Willow?" Faith pulled a face, and groaned.

"Ugh, you had to bring **_that_** up, didn't you?" she grumbled.

"Come on, we can go and hang out for a few minutes. there's a sub-way station not a hundred feet from there. Come on." she said leading her.

They made their way back into the large square. Cabs were stopping in front of the fountain and people were getting out to gather around the steps. about 100, 150 people were gathered at the base of the stairs and a tall Italian man with a crew cut was strumming a guitar and singing a Beatles song loudly, the rest of the steps chorusing him and dancing around. Street vendors and peddlers were wondering around selling things, Gypsies could be seen trying to steal things from drunken people who were not paying attention to their bags or cameras at all.

They stayed and sang, danced around, swayed and laughed at the drunk people getting their stuff stolen. As Buffy felt a Gypsie try and teal her money out of her pocket she turned around and slammed one home, punching him straight across the chin. he hit the marble steps with a flump, and Buffy reached down to pick up the large, worn back-pack he had with him.

"Anyone missing an Elf 650?" she asked the group loudly, holding up the little camera. people instantly started searching their stuff. "Or a fake Louie Viton wallet?" she started going through the bag and handing people their stuff back. the singing and dancing went on a while longer with the man an his guitar, until a man got out of the cab with a large boom-box, and placed it on the lower landing of the stairs. Everyone started cheering as Joan Jett's "**_I Love Rock and Roll_**" started booming through the street.

An Italian boy came up to Buffy and asked her to dance. Buffy turned to look at Faith who suddenly had a deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face. If she asked Buffy not to dance with him, would that be bad? _Why did she even have to look at me for conformation?_, Faith wondered, _I mean... We're not... Are we?_ she suddenly became very nervous, and Buffy turned to tell the boy no.

"Faith, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?" she asked, having seen faith go a little pale.

"Yeah. Yeah, B, I'm good. Why didn't you dance with him?" she asked, trying to cover.

"Because i'd rather dance with you." she said, taking the brunette's hand and pulling her towards the fountain and the street where everyone else was dancing. They danced along wildly with everyone else, jumping and singing along with the music. Someone put in a pop mix, and soon people were dancing to what Faith simply called '**_That Annoying Justin Timberlake Song_**'.

It may have been annoying to Faith, but it sure was popular. Just about everyone who wasn't dancing before was dancing now. They filled the street almost entirely, but no one seemed to mine. There weren't any cars trying to get by except for the Cabs that were dropping people off. Other than that it was just the occasional Vespa or scooter passing by, or people renting those little carriages near by and riding them off into the night.

Buffy and Faith kept dancing, both together and with the people near them. Faith met a boy from Kansas who was in Rome for a scholarship in History and he was so glad that there were so many americans there. She also met a man, about a year older than her who was from Boston, not far from where she'd lived. But he was Italian by blood, and having grown up in the Irish part of Boston (thought she wasn't Irish herself) made her a little weary. Old rivalries... she knew they existed for a reason, she just didn't know what that reason was.

It didn't take long for people to start climbing into the fountain itself to dance. it was a very hot night, muggy and wet in the air. People were dancing and splashing, laughing it up and singing along to the booming radio. As soon as Brittany Spears' '_I'm a Slave 4 You_' started, Buffy too jumped into the fountain, dancing along with some of the more wilder people. At first Faith just laughed as the blonde tried to wave her in, but when she was grabbed from behind by that same, very attractive, Italian boy from before, she found herself both quickly motivated, and very wet.

Almost diving in, she wadded through the three feet of water to where Buffy was. As the blonde did a surprisingly accurate depiction of the Pop-Diva's dancing in the music video Faith was both shocked and more than just a little turned on. The way the fabric of her sun-dress clung to her body and all her curves in what had to be just the right way the brunette had to hold back from just tackling the girl and drowning them both.

Wrapping her arms around Buffy's middle and holding her close, they danced together. the boy standing behind the blonde still tried to find a way into this, but was finding it difficult. every time he tried to sandwiching her between himself and Faith, Buffy would turn around and start bumping her back against Faith and find himself being ignore entirely. The closeness and intimacy of their dancing seemed to be increasing by the minute.

And although Faith had an affinity for a certain small blonde in particular, she wouldn't say that was her 'type'. So when Christina Agulara's "_Dirty_" came on, her first notion was to scoff at it. She thought it was a pretty ridiculous song, made only worse by the delivery of the music-video. But... Uhhhhh ... Watching Buffy dance to it gave her a slightly altered impression of it.

The way Buffy started dancing wildly, twisting and thrusting her hips back against Faith, throwing her arms up and undulating her body to the beat of the music, thrashing and twisting... Buffy was the snake charmer and Faith was the cobra. She couldn't not watch, she couldn't not try and follow her moves, couldn't try and touch her, feel her moving under her fingers.

The feeling of the wet cotton under her fingers, the warmth of Buffy's own skin coming through the cool water made a tickle start in Faith's stomach, heating her breath and and making her think things, impossible things, but they all seemed so real, like she could almost feel them already. If this was a seduction, gods was it ever working. Her hair wet and handing in strings around her face, the way her sopping dress made it so that she could almost see her bra and underpants through the delicate fabric... it was one of the sexiest things she'd ever seen.

And she wasn't the only one aroused. Faith could see the small peaks of the blonde's nipples straitening against the fabric of her clothes. Sure they were both covering in the cool water, but the night was still terribly hot, causing their moist clothes to warm quickly. And Faith was sure that water wasn't the first thing that wetted the blonde's panties that night. at least, she knew it wasn't for her... educated guess.

Stepping closer behind the blonde, wanting so badly to just grab the woman and take her by any means almost irresistible to her now, when all of a sudden - both she and Buffy were submerged at the bottom of the fountain, Buffy landing flat on top of the brunette. Sitting up, wiping water from their faces, Buffy giggled.

"Sorry," she said, still laughing, "I slipped on something at the bottom of the fountain..." she trailed off, pushing some of Faith's hair back behind her ears, looking at her lips, and panting lightly from her dancing and, maybe, something more. Just as Faith was about to lean in to kiss her, finally, something she'd been trying to figure out how to do almost all day, The music stopped at the sound of the S.P.Q.R. Police arriving.

Buffy quickly grabbed Faith's hand and almost everyone made a mad dash to get out of there. It was almost 2am, and on of the nearby hotels must have called the cops on them, buffy explained as they dashed for the under-ground stop not far off. Dropping a few Euro coins into the stalls and jumping on a train that'd just arrived, they laughed about the whole thing as people gave them looks on the train.

Once they arrived at their stop a few blocks from Via Dell'Orso, the both took of their shoes, their tired feet begging them too. Walking the last block with their arms linked, Buffy leaning her head on Faith's shoulder, they both fell silent. Deep in thought over what had happened in the last 24 hours almost made Faith's head spin. But in a good way, if that's possible. She'd not expected any of it, least of all ending up in a fountain dancing with the blonde. But it seemed fitting in some way. As they made their way into Buffy's apartment both heaved a sigh of relief as the door swung open.

"Ughhhhh" Buffy groaned, pitched herself onto Faith's couch, "Being a hostess is hard." she whined in a child's voice. Faith smiled and sat on the opposite end of the couch, taking Buffy's hands into her lap, rubbing her feet absently. "Mmmm, that's perfect." she sighed, leaning back against the armrest of the couch, her back arching as she stretched her body lightly.

"Why did you ignore Willow and Giles' advice in staying away from Dorian?" Faith asked her calmly. Buffy's eyes popped open, craning her neck to look at the brunette.

"Excuse me?"

"My interview," Faith said, "Just thought i'd get some of it out of the way while you were so open and venerable to me." she said playfully. Buffy's eyes slid shut as she leaned back again, a small smirk on her face.

"Here I thought you would have used the opportunity for a more personal gain..." _Oh yeah_, Faith thought, _she's flirting with me_.

"Well, there's always tomorrow right?" Buffy just sighed and wiggled her toes. "So? Why didn't you listen to them?"

"Well, i thought my love life was something that should be up to me." she defended calmly, "If they'd told me they didn't think it was wise for me to date him as a father and a best friend, i might have been more willing to listen; but telling me as my colleagues and as my advisors... it seemed sort of sick. if they thought he wasn't good for me, or right for me, then they could have talked to me as friends, but trying to pull rank on me and saying ti was about their jobs rather than their duty to me as loved one... it was a little disturbing." she sounded hurt, which made sense, hearing where she was coming from.

"So yeah, i'll be the first to admit it; part of my dating Dorian was out of spite. But not most of it. most of it was because he was sexy and sweet and kind and that that sort of old-world charm... which makes sense, since he is very old." at that she laughed a little, and Faith nodded silently, now just lightly tickling the in-step of the blonde's feet, making her giggle. "Stop that!" she laughed.

"But what if they really did believe it? Like, they thought you might be in danger as a Slayer becasue of this guy?" Buffy just shrugged. "B, come on, what if that was why?"

"I'm not stupid you know." Buffy mumbled, "I do know who he is, how he works. i know he takes an interest in things that are usually more than human... Werewolves, Vampires, Slayers. i knew i wasn't his first Slayer, that didn't bother. and the last one came out of it just fine. Once i knew who he was i hit streets, learned all about him. i knew he wasn't a threat... he was nothing but good to me. Even still, he's giving me advice on how to invest for Dawn's College fund." Faith nodded, but kept going.

"But did you ever think that maybe, since everyone's so spread out all over the world, maybe they were just trying their hardest to look out for you, since they can't be there for you if you need if should something happen?" Buffy didn't answer, she just lay there, her breath even and her eyes closed. "... B?" she asked. Leaning over a little, placing a hand over Buffy's, seeing if she was asleep, "B?" she whispered.

"I'm awake Faith," she said quietly, something odd about her tone, like remorse. "No, i didn't think of that." she opened her eyes, blinking a few times, pulling her self up into a sitting position, putting her feet on the ground. "Do you really think that's what they were doing?" she asked, sounding almost hopeful, yet still like remorse. Faith put a comforting arm on her shoulder and rubbed it gently, not saying anything.

"Good night Faith." Buffy said, getting up slowly, reaching down tot pick her shoes up off the coffee table where she'd left them. "I'mma go take a shower, you take take one when I'm done if you want?" she offered.

"Nah, thanks anyways B; i'll just take one tomorrow morning. I'm a little wiped out."

"I'll go get you your blankets then." Walking in to the other room, faith sighed deeply and laid back. Stretching her arms over her head, going into a full body pull, she groaned at how good it felt to pop all those joints that were tired but happy. resting her hands behind her head, looking at the ceiling, she couldn't help the smile that crept over her face. Today had been a _really_ good day.

"Here," She heard Buffy say, tucking a pillow under her head, leaning over her smirking. "You're going to wake up with sore arms too if you sleep like that." she pulled the cushions off the back of the couch and stacked them next to the coffee table. Throwing the blanket over the brunette, she smiled down at her, sitting on the edge of the couch. Pushing some hair off of Faith's face, she smiled at her, and moved to get up, But the younger woman grabbed her arm.

"B, wait..." she started but then fell silent. Buffy looked at her expectantly, sitting down again, waiting. Nothing.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to prompt her to continue.

"I dunno." she said quietly, surprised how much her tone sounded like she was afraid. "I have so many questions... but if it's going to break this little spell... I rather go on not knowing, you know?" she said, not sure she was even making any sense. but Buffy just nodded, her smile falling a little.

"Yeah Faith, I know." She patted Faith's hand gently and got up. "Good night Faith," she said, leaning over to give her a gentle but lingering kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well."

" 'Night." Faith said gently. she didn't know what to make any of it, but it didn't seem like a great deal had changed. But if the events of the past few hours were to mean anything at all, it seemed like Faith might have more than a snowball's chance in Hades with the blonde. that fact alone enough to bring a smile to her lips, she smiled and laid back onto her pillow. Falling asleep with a smile on her face for the first time in a long while, the brunette had some amazing dreams, and not a single nightmare.

( To Be Continued... )

(((Author's Note: This was my first time writing on a Mac, so please excuse any capitalization errors, along with spelling mistakes, as this POS writing program i used was... well... a POS. Besides that, i hope you enjoyed it. AND! I am pleased to say that **Roman Holiday**, _Part One_ won the following awards in the "_**Passionate Oasis**'s Around The World Fest_":)))

Best Description of a Local: **First Place**

Best Romantic Notion: **Second Place**

Best Quote: **Tied For First**

Best Over All: **Second Place**

-VixenRaign-


	3. Vamps, Tramps, & a Bit O'Hostory

**TITLE**: **Roman Holiday**, Part three

**RATING**: R, but with sex.

**WARNING**: Un-Beta'd! And! Shameless Pimping of the fabulous country of Italy... just so's ya know.

**PAIRING**: Buffy/Faith, Past Slayer/Female Lover

**SPOILERS**: All of _BtVS_ and _AtS_ up to 5.19. I changed the name of the Immortal to the name of the original Immortal; Dorian Grey.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own NOTHING, not even the title of the Fic, its barrowed from an old movie with the '_Breakfast At Tiffanies_' woman in it (Audrey Hepburn). All _BtVS_ and _AtS_ characters belong to Joss and his cronies, along with WB, Fox, UPN, and anyone else that might have a crack at them. The name Dorian Grey belongs to someone who's not me and whom I don't know. Any songs or lyrics used or listed belong to the notes artists, their albums, and producers.

**DEDICATION**: To the wonderful Dallas for her birth-day, this is for you, as LTFF seems to have died on me. Hope this doesn't fall too short of your liking, though it might not be _Birds Of Prey_. The idea of leaving someone unsatisfied being a good thing was inspired by my Ducky - Love you babe!

**SUMMERY**: Faith gets sick of life with Wood and is hired as a 'Special Correspondent' to the New Counsel. When an assignment takes her to Rome, she realizes that not just the weather is hot in "The City Without Age".

**Summery Part One**: Faith arrives in Rome to begin her questioning of Buffy about her recent life-style choices she then takes Faith to dinner where she gets drunk. They get attacked by a Vamp, steal his arm, and make out on Buffy's couch – an event which Buffy puts a sudden stop to - much to Faith's disappointment and confusion. READ ON!

**Summery Part Two**: Faith does some thinking about what made her realize why she fell for Buffy in the first place, and tries to prove to the blonde that she does love her - even while sober. She still doesn't believe Faith when she confesses a second time (thinking it's a matter of pride to her now), and is at a lost of what to do to make her believe. Buffy takes her around the city the next two days; churches, movies, Internet cafes, shopping, and nice dinners; and some naughty, wild dancing in a fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps. They're both falling in love - _obviously_.

"**Roman Holiday**"

**Chapter Three**: _Vamps, Tramps, and a little bit of History_

Faith woke the next morning to the sound of the front door closing. From what little tingle her Slayer senses were giving off in her sleepy haze she realized it was Buffy who'd just left as the tickle got weaker. Sighing, turning over, facing the back of the couch, she tried to go back to sleep. She didn't know why but she was exhausted!

Maybe it was Italy; it was just so easy to take a deep breath and relax here! That, and the fact that it couldn't have been much later than 9am and already it must have been 90 degrees. Or so the AirConditioner across the room and half out the window said. Thankfully, it was running, so it was a cool, even, 72 degrees inside. As she settled back into her pillows, and deeper into her thin sheets, she smiled as she realized that this trip had afforded her some of the best nights of sleep she'd had in years.

The next time she woke up it was about two hours later from Buffy returning from wherever she'd gone. Faith pretended to sleep, listening carefully. She heard Buffy put something down on the counter - bags, she assumed, as they crinkled a little. Allowing an eye to open a crack to see what the blonde might be doing she realized it was pretty much useless; she was facing the back of the couch.

Faking sleep again, she sighed and just listened. Buffy must have heard her breathing change, as it got her attention. She heard the blonde stop whatever she was doing suddenly, she assumed she was washing something, as the tap stopped running. There was a long stretch of silence which made Faith wonder what was going on. Her curiosity just about getting the better of her, she was about to try and roll over and make it look like she was just tossing when the couch moved.

"Faith?" Buffy whispered. She'd said it so quietly that even Faith's Slayer hearing barely caught it as she sat teetering on the edge of the cushions, less than a foot away. Faith didn't answer. She knew her fake-sleeping was a lot less convincing, however, as she held her breath; Buffy had just lain down on the couch behind her. Stretched out as far as the little blonde could go, she wrapped her arms securely about the brunette's middle and settled in on her pillow as though she were laying down to kip on her own bed.

She was spooned. Shoulders to ankles and then some. She could feel that little button-noes against the nape of her neck with it's warm breath spilling down the collar of her shirt and tickling her shoulder-blades. Her butt was cradled in the narrow bowl of the older woman's hips and her hands rested at the base of either side of her ribs. She could feel the blonde's tiny knees against the back of her own and realized just how similar in size and shape they were while laying down.

"Faith?" Buffy asked again, this time sounding a bit tired, like she actually intended to rest where she lay, "Breathe." She reminded her stoutly. Faith let her short breath out in a shuddering and quick pant. _How long had she been holding that_, she wondered... It didn't seem to matter; Buffy showed no signs that she intended to go anywhere.

"Do I - Uh... Do I need to get up?" she asked feebly, more croaky than mere sleepiness would allow.

"Not yet." Buffy said, adjusting her grip on Faith's middle so it was resting along the top of her hip-bones now. "I thought maybe we'd sleep in, catch an exceedingly early dinner, and then I'd take you around for a bit... We're going to have a really late night tonight so it might be best to get the sleeping out of the way now - the hottest part of the day." Faith didn't say anything, she just nodded. "You still want to go to that club?" Faith gave a short nod.

"Yeah. That sounded like fun." Buffy sighed and said she'd '_make it happen_'. They both lay there quietly for the next few minutes. It must have felt like minutes to Buffy, who Faith could tell was slowly falling asleep, but to the brunette it felt like hours. A hundred thoughts chased themselves around her head, only breeding a hundred more the next, making her brain all the more crowded.

"B?" Faith asked quickly, wanting to catch the blonde before she drifted off.

"Mmm?" Buffy hummed, the vibrations lightly tickling her spine.

"..." She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything. Nothing came out. "You sleepy?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

"A little," the blonde mumbled, "I had a bit of trouble sleeping last night... Thoughts just - you know-... Racing." she said, yawing half way through and pulling the girl more tightly to her. "Don't worry." she said quietly, "I'll wake you when we need to get going... I'll be here when you get up."

Faith was glad Buffy was pressed into her back - she didn't want her to see what a dopey grin a sentiment as simple as that would bring to her face. Her dimples almost hurt. But oddly, somehow, as she felt the shorter woman sigh into her hair again, she had a feeling Buffy knew it was there - even if she couldn't see it.

****

"Faith... Faith... Faith..." She was sleeping. On her couch, in Buffy's apartment. She was waking slowly yet the facts came to her more quickly than they usually did when she woke up. Only one room smelled like that, and it was in Italy; and she could feel the break in the cushions of the couch under her butt. The pillow under her head was down - like the kind Buffy had on her bed; so she instantly knew where she was...

But there was a weight on her tummy. Low. A little above her hips and across her belly-button. She had **_no_** idea what that was. Turning her head so it faced forward and up, she opened one squinting and tired eye. Whoa. She'd come to Italy for the view, and that was what she'd got... Wow.

Buffy was sitting on her stomach, wearing a white tank-top and a little pair of khaki shorts. Her little white ankles socks looked so cute on her tiny feet and that golden cascade of hair was pulled into a neat bun at the back of her blonde's head. Her pink cheeks were dimpled in a simple grin as smiling hazel eyes peered down at her. She looked genuinely happy; and Faith could never remember her looking so beautiful.

"Welcome to the land of the living." she said playfully, sitting back on her haunches a bit. "I thought I'd let you get a few more hours as we have a bit of walking to do. The area I'm taking you to doesn't exactly have a lot of taxies. Then I remembered that you didn't take a shower last night after the fountain excitement..." She trailed off but smiled.

"I think I'll go take that now," Faith said, motioning to get up, expecting the blonde to allow her to move. She didn't. Instead she placed a hand on each shoulder and held her down.

As she leaned over, Faith noticed that her smile faded, but not all the way. It could still be seen at the corners of her lips and in her eyes. She stayed there for a time, just looking down at her until finally, quick as a flash she kissed the taller girl's forehead and got up.

"Go on," she said, walking towards the kitchen's mounted phone, "I have to call Dawn anyways..."

_What the **fuck** was that_! Faith got to her feet a little shakily and made her way towards the bathroom. It was then she saw that the bags Buffy had been going through had been her own; she'd completely forgotten that they'd left them at the restaurant the night before! Picking out some things to change into, she headed for the bathroom as she heard Buffy start talking to her sister.

Turning the dial to a colder setting, she twitched slightly away from the spray on instinct before getting used to it. This cold shower served two purposes; one, it would keep her cool - for at least a few minutes - when she stepped out into that hot afternoon sun. That, and it was a very sobering experience. What the hell had happened back there? What was that back on the couch?

The night before she'd passed on the opportunity to ask the blonde some questions in favor of not breaking the spell the two of them seemed to be cast into. Every time she told Buffy she loved her the blonde pulled back into herself a bit; she didn't know what she'd do if she kissed her, let alone jumped her.

It was obvious that Buffy had all the cards in this game; Faith couldn't make a move without scaring her off, and she was enjoying this all too much to risk losing it. This was what she'd wanted, what she'd been waiting for... wasn't it? okay, admittedly, she'd expected a relationship that was a little more evenly plotted, but Buffy was obviously interested. That was enough for now.

Pulling on some army-green shorts and a navy tank-top, she walked into the living room to pull on her boots. Sitting on the couch again, she found a clean pair of socks and started tugging on her shoes, listening to Buffy's end of the call.

"Yeah... Yeah... No, not very well..." Buffy said giggling, glancing at the brunette. She wondered what they were talking about. "I dunno, maybe three... Five at the most..." Five **_huh_**? "She flies out tomorrow at about noon." Ah. Yes. That... They were talking about her. She didn't want to think about it; the fact that her time was so close to up. That in less than 24 hours she'd be on her way back to London to get grilled by Willow and Giles.

"Hey Faith," Buffy asked, coving the speaker with a free hand, the phone against her shoulder, "You want to talk to Dawn?" she offered. Faith nodded and got up.

"Peanut?" Faith asked, which was answered with an excited squeal. "I'd know that excited yelp anywhere." she laughed.

Faith! What have you done- What have you seen- Have you been to the Vatican yet- Where did you eat- Are you going to extend your trip so I can -

"Whoa! D! Calm down!" Faith glanced at Buffy who was chuckling as she put a few odds and ends in her purse. "Buffy's taken me to see some pretty sweet sights, some cool buildings and things - we saw a movie - eaten at all kinds of places, lots of good food." She assured the girl quickly, "But sadly the Pope'll just have to see me the next time I'm in town; I'm all booked solid. As for extending the trip; I hate to say it but it's a 'No'... Willow wants me back in London to prove that your sis isn't a crazy person-"

She leaned away from the blonde and whispered into the phone, "And we all know how hard of a job that's gonna be, right?" She got smacked on the back of the head and both brunette's burst into fits of laughter. "Alright, well, if you ever wanna chat just give Willow a call - she keeps track of all my contact info; she knows how to get in touch, alrighty?"

Alright... Dawn said sadly, I think I'll do that.

"Alright. Your sis and I gotta run; my vacation's getting shorter and shorter by the minute. I'll talk to you soon."

Okay... Bye!

"Bye!" Faith sighed and hung up the portable. "So..." Faith started lamely, "Five what?" Buffy giggled and took the phone from the taller girl and put it back in it's jack.

"Five words."

"Huh?"

"She asked if you'd learned any Italian yet; and I guessed that you'd learned about five words by now." Faith scowled good-naturedly, knowing it was probably true.

"Hey, I was never any great shakes at languages!" She defended, following the blonde out of the apartment, "I mostly just hurt people."

"Don't I know it." Buffy joked back with an exaggerated sigh. Now it was the blonde's head that got a decent 'fwap'. "Hey, just preaching to the choir, am I right?" She replied defensively, but still sort of chuckling. Faith nodded darkly and shoved her hands into her pockets. Buffy just bumped her hips against her and laughed.

"Where're we going?" Faith asked suddenly, "And why don't they have cabs?"

"Well," Buffy started as they made their way to a taxi-heavy corner down the road, "I'm taking you to see the real reason to see Rome. The Ancient Center." They climbed into the back of the cab and she gave the driver directions before sitting back herself.

"I'd think that place would be over-flowing with cabs?" The brunette commented as the blonde looked to her again, "Bursting at the seams with cheap-o tourist merchandise and angry locals." Buffy laughed and looked out the window.

"Oh no, the shops and merchants around the Ancient Center are there because they **like** that environment. They want the tourists. Trust me, there is a LOT of money to be made out there."

"Don't tell me you helped to rip-off your fellow Americans when you were tour-guide?" she asked, feigning shock at the blonde's actions. Buffy just scoffed at her.

"Please, those people **want** to be ripped off. Besides, I never toured around there, that was a separate trip headed by another woman." She didn't elaborate and simply kept her eyes out the window. Faith watched as the pretty green-hazel irises flitted from building to building, the people wondering about, the way the cars rocketed around winding and wild streets with a confidence and unity.

"B?" She asked, grabbing the girls attention after a few minutes, "Why didn't you tour around there?" The blonde sighed, and seemed to be thinking about it, "Do you not like it there? We don't have to-"

"No!" Buffy insisted suddenly, looking a little shocked, "No no no! Not at all - I love it there!" she giggled a little and scooted closer tot he other woman, "I think, if I really thought about it, that's why. When I go there I love to just... you know... wonder, I guess you'd call it. Not to have to keep people moving quickly, know all the little details about it..." she laughed suddenly and leaned her head back against the back of the seat.

"What?" Faith asked, grinning widely, intrigued.

"Well," Buffy said, putting a hand on Faith's knee and making it feel incredibly natural to both of them, "There's a sort of... I don't know. A Mystery feeling about that place - it was the first place I went to when I arrived. We passed it on the way from the air-port - the driver was cheating us, but looking back I couldn't care less - and the moment I saw it I just..." she sighed and Faith put a hand over the small one on her knee.

"I asked the driver to stop and let me out. Giles and Dawn went on to the Apartment and I just..." she laughed a little to herself again, "I showed myself around. I wondered around there for hours; I only left because I'd realized it was starting to get late and the shadows were getting longer. So I dunno. I like that I don't know everything about it; gives me the chance to make things up, I guess." She turned her little hand over and twined their fingers.

Leaning back, she sighed, closed her eyes for a few long seconds, and then opened them, briefly smiling at Faith. She smiled back, enjoying this strangeness between them. The blonde's smile widened, and she turned to look excitedly out the window, as though it were _she_ that was being shown around. Faith did the same, scooting closer tot he girl and looking out the same window.

Buffy leaned back into Faith's body, oddly cradled in her body, their weird angle of sitting serving some purpose it seemed. Faith wrapped her free arm around the older girl's middle and sighed. Buffy followed suit, leaning her head back against the girl's shoulder.

They'd never said a word about any of this; about their closeness; what was too close, what was or wasn't 'okay' between them, they just kind of went with it and hoped for the best - and so far that was what they'd gotten in return. So far - so good. And as Faith saw the Roman Amphitheater in the distance, she felt Buffy sit up a little straighter and clutch the hand in hers to her tummy.

"We're here!" Buffy said excitedly, turning to look back at the brunette. Her dimples were showing and her eyes were wide and innocent, and Faith realized: This Was Buffy's Favorite Place. She hugged the girl a little tighter before they both got up and out of the cab, Buffy paying him liberally and almost skipping as she went. But for some reason, she was pulling Faith away from the Colosseum and towards the foot of a grassy knoll.

"Come on!" She giggled at Faith's confusion, "I'm showing you a secret, little-known historic sight." Suddenly they walked what looked like a fancy driveway. Where it lead was what looked like the entrance to a low-budget theme-park. But there were no rides - just a Cave a little ways behind it.

"What's this?" She asked, confused why Buffy would want to show her a cave. Wiping at the perspiration that never seemed to really leave at her brow, she hoped this didn't involve a hike of some kind.

"Trust me, You'll like it in there." She paid for two tickets, and the woman at the little booth asked her a question. "Do you want to wait 15 minutes and go with the English-Speaking tour group?" She asked, looking at her expectantly.

Hmm, there was a question. Buffy had just professed to like not knowing things about this place, so she knew she should say 'No', but then again, if this cave was cool enough to warrant being seen before the rest of the Old Center then maybe...

"How much do **_you_** know about this place, B?" She asked, looping an arm over the girl's shoulder, leading her on towards the cave's opening. The blonde smiled and shook her head a little.

"Not too much, just the little bits and pieces I overheard while exploring." Faith pulled her along and just nodded. "Faith, what about the tour?" she asked suddenly.

"What about it?" Faith smiled as they stepped into the cave, "I'm all ears." She said. Buffy smiled and waved an arm at the walls. They weren't earth - they were stone. Marble, to be exact. And _MAN_! Was it **COLD** in there!

"Welcome to Nero's Palace." Buffy said, doing a good imitation of a flight attendant's voice, "I'm not sure if he commissioned it being built or if he was the last guy to live here, but that's where we are. It's a virtual maze down here, so it's easy to get lost... And kinda fun." She laughed, breaking out of her 'Tour Guide' voice.

"I take it you like getting lost down here?" Faith asked, pulling the arm she had around the blonde's shoulder a little tighter. Buffy nodded happily, reminding Faith very much of Dawn. They both laughed. "You ever get lost in here with anyone before?" she asked, Buffy shook her head. "Really? I get to be your first?" she asked smoothly, laying it on pretty thick. Buffy shook her head.

"I came here with Dorian," She said slowly, "But we didn't get lost." Faith was confused, and Buffy's tone - admittedly - had her a little jealous.

"What do you mean- What _did_ you do?" Buffy just laughed, shaking her head.

"It wasn't like that!" she paused to laugh, and they both noticed a Dutch family glaring at them a little ways ahead as they also made their way through. "He **lived** here for a while when it was still a palace. He and Nero were good friend for a time... Until they had a falling out."

"What happened?" Faith asked excitedly as they weaved in and out of passage ways.

"Well, Dorian was in love with Nero's wife, but she wouldn't have him because she was too in love with Nero himself - though from what I've heard about him I could not tell you why."

"And points to her for the fact that she could resist Dorian in the first place - I hear he's quite the charmer." Buffy nodded emphatically, and again there was a twinge of jealousy.

"Anyways! He got wind of a plot between Nero and his mistress; they planned to kill Nero's wife and have his new lover take her place as Empress. Now, an Emperor taking on another woman wasn't uncommon, in fact it was uncommon not to. Strangely enough it was also surprisingly common for them to kill their wives, but Dorian wouldn't hear of it."

"What did he do?" Faith asked, surprisingly riveted.

"Well; he killed the mistress, cut off her head and sent her body to Nero, and her head to his wife." Buffy said it so calmly and matter-of-factly it was a little unnerving. If this was just a story between Slayers, that was one thing, but the fact that Buffy had dated this man made it exceedingly weird. She shivered slightly, hoping it was from the cold in the underground chambers.

"Why do they have the AC cracked up so hard?" Faith griped loudly. Buffy just laughed.

"They don't; the chemicals that the Air-Conditioners put out could ruin the mosaics and frescos; it's just naturally this cold underground."

"Why **is** this place underground?" Faith realized suddenly, "I mean, I get building a castle at the top of a hill; but this seems sorts of illogical. if the palace got stormed you'd be trapped - no where to go." Buffy laughed heartily and Faith realized she must have said something stupid.

"Faith!" she said between chortles, "It wasn't _BUILT_ to be here! This is just where it ended up!" She pulled Faith over to one section off to their right and down a long passageway; there was a small spot of sky visible way at the top of the high-ceiling. "See that up there? You see the cement pouring down from it?" Faith nodded.

"Yeah, so?"

"So! All of the Ancient Center was underground! Even parts of the Colosseum. They were dug up one day when someone went in search of them. They just can't undig this place because it was covered in cement about 400 years ago. Some hyper-catholic-architect tried to fill it in with cement, worried that people who came in here would want to revive the old ways - the Pagan ways. He didn't succeed, he only filled in two or three chambers."

"What a Psycho!" Faith chuckled, shaking her head.

"Ahh, see, Romans are a strange people. They were the center of the Pagan world at the hight of it's time, and now they're the center of the Catholic world - the Vatican is just across the river. They love their history, but they also love their religion just as much. It's a delicate balance. And remember; 400 years ago The Church ruled the world, not Emperors."

They wondered around a while more. Buffy showed Faith where the nicer frescos were and some of the pretty mosaics on the ceiling. She also showed her all the graffiti. Some of it was almost 1500-years-old! Some of it was about 60 or 70 years old, from when the Nazi found the palace during their raid or Italy.

They'd used candles, burning them too closely to the ceiling as they hung from ropes, the sulfur and ash from the wick leaving marks on the delicate plaster and cement. They said things in German, so they weren't sure what it said but there were a few swastikas.

"Where to next?" Faith asked as Buffy declared that she officially knew nothing else about the palace.

"We could go across the way and grab a **_really_** late lunch?" Faith's stomach answered for her, as at the mention of food it gave a hearty growl. "I'll take that as a yes."

They made they way out of the cave's entrance about 20 minutes later, having got terribly lost at one point, only realizing that they'd been going in circles after Buffy had commented on the same fresco twice. They smiled and made their way over to a cafe. They had 'Paninis', which Buffy explained were Italian sandwiches.

They were good, but Faith would have told you between what she'd had a a heart meatball sub from the place down from her and Wood's old apartment - she'd take the Sub. Buffy got a Capresi sandwich, which consisted of slices of melted mozzarella cheese over slices of tomato, sprinkled with oregano, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. It sounded completely bizarre to Faith, but after having a small taste admitted it was pretty good. She got a chicken, precciuto, and cheese. It was good; sort of like a Italian version of a club sandwich.

"So, where next?" The brunette wiped her mouth and reached for her drink, eager to see some more. Suddenly, she needed to see as much as possible. She had _hours_ left, not even a day, and it all seemed to be ticking away far too fast for her liking it.

Slayers didn't live that long and with the new job the Counsel had given her, she knew that with the dangerous situations she was in regularly... well... it was surprising. Suddenly, she knew that memories of this trip were going to be some the few things that would comfort her in the near future. She wanted to spend as much time with Buffy as she could, she wanted to see all the pretty things and exciting places... Suddenly she was scared of dying.

"Well, that's up to you really." Buffy replied, also wiping her mouth, laying the last of her food down with an ere of finality. "We can go see the actual ruins of the Roman Center, and then there's the Colosseum itself."

"What order would you recommend?"

"Well..." Buffy started, then trailed off nervously with a laugh, "I'd say see then center first, then the Colosseum." she started picking apart the remains of her sandwich with her unused fork, not looking at Faith.

"Why do ya say that?" Faith asked, reaching across and taking the girl's hand, making her drop the fork so she could play with her fingers. She looked up, her eyes boring into Faith's, but for some reason they possess the essence that they could see into her, and then right through her, and off into a distance far away.

"Because," She started slowly, a roughness and an awe to her voice, "When the light hits the Colosseum **_just_** right, and the setting sun pours in through those slats... It's the most beautiful sight in all of Rome." Buffy believed it so much, that when Faith heard her say it she felt her heart give a hard, solid beat before seemingly missing the next few. She couldn't wait to see it.

"Sounds like a plan." Faith agreed quietly a few minutes later. The waiter came by to give them their check, and they slowly made their way over to the Old Ruins. They walked down some exceptionally old cobblestone steps, down into the pit where the remains were. It wasn't so much a pit as a sort of a crater; but it was in the earth none the less.

In the back-ground Faith could see the tall, round figure of the Amphitheatre, eager to see this beautiful light for herself. Buffy seemed to know a fair deal more about this place than the palace. She showed Faith the pillars where the entrance to the old congressional meetings of the Roman Republic used to meet (when the ruler would allow such a level of democracy to persist). She showed her what buildings used to be temples, and what gods they belonged to. If they were still standing and nearly in tact it was because they'd been converted into churches.

"Did you know that there are said to be over 300 churches in the city-limits of Rome?" Buffy asked her knowingly, as she led her to the far end of the pit. Faith shook her head. "Yup. And it's said that at least 200 of them have some part of the Colosseum inside them, often bricks of marble stolen from the outer wall and used for the foundation."

"Seriously?" Faith asked, sounding surprised, "They just took it?"

"Oh yeah! It didn't always look like that," she said, nodding behind her to the massive figure, "It used to have a clothe retractable roof and wooden beams over-head. And all those little archways used to have statues in them. Of past kings, senators, Gods, Goddesses, heros… Every arch had a figure in it. They were all either destroyed or stole and pillaged; taken to other countries as trophies. And it used to be a full circle all the way around, that slanted bit was only because that was the easiest way to steal the bricks."

"Ah, shit, that's great!" Faith said amidst a fit of laughter. Buffy just smiled, and squeezed the girl's hand in hers a little tighter as she led her onwards. "So…" Faith said slowly, standing under the arch, "This is where Julius Caesar was stabbed?" She said, not so much asking as stating as she inspected the spot and and examining the ground, the area nearby and then looking up at the blonde. She was smiling slightly to herself and shaking her head a bit.

"You're way over-sympathizing, Faith, give it up." She said laughing. The brunette chuckled and walked back over to her companion, enjoying the aching heat of the afternoon for once. "Besides," the shorter woman sighed, "He was stabbed over there – by that little alter." She said, indicating a marble brick with flowers and ripe fruit on it with her free hand. "They followed him out of the meeting where he made his declaration and stabbed him in the back and sides until he bled to death leaning on that alter."

"Jeez…" Faith grimaced, looking from the spot to Buffy, her look dead-serious, "At least you had the decency to stab me in the front." Buffy and she both burst into short, slightly embarrassed giggles.

"Hey, what are good friends for?" She led her the long way around the pit again, this time slowly strolling towards the Colosseum. Out in front of it there were about 20 merchants with fancy little carts, all selling the same array of seven different items, figurines of gladiators in three different sizes, paper-weights shaped like the building itself in three more sizes. And then there were fans with pictures of both, one on each side of the small, paper collapsible fans.

Past them were men dressed as Fighters themselves, in full, realistic gear, made of real feathers and metal and robes of silk or burlap. There were also beautiful Italian woman in togas or skimpy old-world dresses. Across from them were irritable looking photographers, grabbing any tourist that came within arms distance. Grabbing them by the wrist or collar, throwing them in front of the actors and taking a quick snap-shot, and then asking them for five-Euro for the Polaroid that was quickly developing.

When they tried to deny them, or say they didn't want their pictures taken the photographers said they didn't speak English/Japanese/Greek/French. It was worse when they refused to pay – the photographer would yell at them and chase them about the small square complaining loudly until they gave in. Making sure to not come within an unsafe distance of these men, they got into the slightly long queue to buy a pass inside.

There were lots of stairs. More and more it seemed; once you reached the top of one set there was a line to go up the next. They were steep, and wide, but so warn for thousands of years of feet walking on them and water pooling and washing away they all seemed to well in the center – not to mention make them extremely slippery.

_Wow_, Faith thought as Buffy caught her elbow for what felt like the hundredth time as she nearly fell, _the old Romans must have had **really** tiny feet_! Because the stairs themselves were fairly short, the brunettes heals hung off the back of them they were so small. It took a few minutes, but they finally made it to the top, and the view was incredible.

There was no floor to the stage, or where Buffy had indicated the stage would have been. She indicated where the small walls that were visible deep in the pit made up the cages that used to hold animals, Gladiators, and Christians. Faith said that would have been her kind of place if she'd been a live at the time. Buffy just laughed and agreed, save one fact.

"Women didn't come to the fights, and when they did they came as forced social guests of diplomatic men." She lead the brunette to a small alcove off the side and pointed down into the pit where they had tried to restore a section of the floor so the people visiting could get a good feel for the way it had been before. "The closer the seats, the lower-class the observers." Faith chuckled,

"Opposite of the way things are at sporting events these days – I had to pay an arm and a leg to get floor-seats to see the Golden State Warriors a couple months ago."

"True, but still; this place was far too dangerous for women to be, as some had to learn the hard way…" Buffy scoffed knowingly, with a slightly exasperated edge… And it caught Faith's attention so fast she was lucky she had Slayer reflexes – she would have gotten whiplash.

"What?" Faith asked quickly, not sure what _on earth_ Buffy was talking about. Buffy sighed a little shortly and turned to face Faith full-on. Looking the younger woman up and down, as though to determine if she was 'worthy' for whatever she was about to do, the blonde seemed deep in consideration. 

"Can I tell you a story?" She asked, as though serious. _What kind of story_, Faith wondered, _Like a fairy-tale? A kid's story_? Even though Faith was still utterly confused, she nodded. "You sure you want to know? Because in order for me to tell you, you have to believe it – even when it couldn't be real." She stated it like a warning, which oddly only made Faith want to believe more if she wouldn't already.

"I'll believe." She promised. Buffy sighed, and walked to the upper-most edge of the massive stadium. She crossed her arms over the side, leaning heavily on it, and thinking.

"I've never been here before – Rome, I mean." She emphasized, "Technically, I'm still on my first visit. But… I've lived in Rome before - long before." Faith was confused again, but she knew she was being led on to something.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Merick, my old watcher before Giles, told me the while most Slayers were provided with dreams that told the stories of past slayers so they could learn from them – their lives, their mistakes, their strategies – He let me in on an idea he had." Buffy turned her eyes on Faith, and smiled. "He said I did everything 'wrong', but it all seemed to work out anyways – as though I knew that doing things 'right' would still get me killed. Like… maybe… I wasn't insane." At that Faith snorted with laughter, but quickly pulled it in so Buffy wouldn't get embarrassed and not elaborate.

"Excuse me – What!" she said, still trying to hold in giggles.

"Well? They say that the definition of insanity is trying the same experiments over and over again and expecting different results – can't say I don't agree! He thought that maybe what was 'wrong' with me, what that maybe I was the first one to not be crazy. Maybe I knew too much to try the same failed experiments all over again. That maybe… I had done this all before." She finished hesitantly. But not as though she weren't sure, just as though she were unsure of Faith's reaction.

"Like; what? – You're repeating your life until you get it right?" Buffy laughed, but shook her head.

"No, not even close. But I do think I know who's life I did live." _Whoa… try that again, but this time more slowly_. Buffy must have seen the utter confusion on her face, because she paused to think before trying again.

"Merick thought that – **Maybe** – I had been a Slayer in a past life." Faith nodded, but didn't like to believe in past lives. If so, she must have been a real asshole in her last one… or quite possibly be even worse off in her **next** life after the crazy shit she pulled in this one. _Now **there's** a depressing thought_. Buffy continued.

"He thought that maybe the reason why I was so good, even when I was so utterly terrible, was because it was natural to me – some part of me knew how to do it – remembered… For the longest time I just laughed about it. Me. The girl that could have given **Cordy** a run for her money in the Stuck-Up-Bitch race when I was first Called. I found it utterly laughable… Until I kept dying. For some reason, when repeated death and fatal injury didn't put me in the ground permanently the way it had the other, Past Slayers… It just kind of clicked."

"What do you mean?" Faith asked, curios. Walking up until she was right behind the blonde, she put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Buffy looked back at it as though it were some strange foreign thing she'd never known before.

"It just made sense." She whispered horsely, "But not until I came here – just here – to this very place." She said, indicating the Colloseum with a free hand, "When I was staning here, I just… knew it; because I felt it like I feel you…" Faith's eyes widened, her mind going to a slightly more dirty place than either of them wanted it. Buffy seemed to tell, and laughed.

"Not like that. I meant our Slayer connection. When one of us is close, we can feel it – we can sense where the others' been. It was the same when I was here, only fainter - Older."

"How do you know it wasn't just some newly-called Mini-Slayer?" Faith asked, leaning her back against the edge so she could watch Buffy, who simply shook her head.

"What would be the need?" she asked seriously, "We'd already checked, there's been no girl called in Rome. Anything here would be too old and experienced to get killed off by some Newbie, and besides – Rome; Land of One-Thousand-and-One Churches! Home to the Vatican, and the Pope, and the purist, holiest water in the world? Any vamp you'd find here would have to have been here for thousands of years, and is too smart to do anything stupid, like live on the Holied Ground. That's part of why I'm here; to pick up the Slack; to fight the baddies that no one else could…"

She trailed off, and went back to looking off into the distance. Her eyes became unfocused and her vision seemed to lay on a horizon in another time. The sun was getting fairly low in the sky, and it hurt to look at, but Buffy's eyes were fixed, on the horizon, or where it would be once the sun really started setting. The bright golden light made her pupils small as pin-pricks and made the hazel of her eyes look flecked with bits of molten fire and gave her now golden hair a prism of colors for high-lights.

"B?" Faith asked gently, wanting to nudge her, as though perhaps she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open. She was worried, she hadn't seen Buffy this serious for a long time.

"The other reason I came here was because when I was a junior in high, I accidentally read a Slayer's Diary." At that Faith did laugh. Buffy smiled too. "True, I did steal one once with Willow so I could read up on Angel's early Vampire days; but the one I'm talking about was _actually_ and accident. I think when Giles gathered books for us to read through for some impending apocalypse or other, he grabbed a translated Slayer Diary instead."

"Seriously?" Faith actually sounded excited, "I've always wondered what they were like, you know, considering my own Slayer Diary said little about Slaying in it." Buffy laughed and nodded. "I mean come on! If we're gonna be forced to keep a diary, we're gonna want to write about other things, not more crap about or 'Destiny', am I right?" Buffy laughed and nodded.

"Seems you and I weren't the only one's either. This diary said very little about the nightly huntings of the Slayer… in fact, it wasn't even written by a Slayer."

"What?" Faith asked quickly. Buffy nodded knowingly, and explained.

"Yes, it was written **after** she died… By her lover." She said pointedly, looking sideways at Faith as she turned back towards the western sky.

"Lover?" She asked, sounding considerably more intrigued.

"It was obviously written in a different time, in a completely different place. But the bulk of the story took place right here in Rome. About 1800-years ago."

"What was her name?"

"The author's name was Sophetia, and the Slayer's name was Lysistrata." At that Faith made a face.

"Listen-what?" she tried, and failed yet again to pronounce it. 

"Liss – ess – trah – tah." Buffy corrected, "Or so I think… It's Greek in origin, coming from a story where a woman banded all the women of Athens together in a fight to stop the war between Athens and Sparta; they did it by denying their husbans sex until they agreed to peace. I think we had read the play the year before, it was pretty good – full of Innuendoes and sex-jokes." Faith waggled her eyebrows.

"Sounds like my kind of play!" Buffy laughed, and sighed.

"Anyways, the diary told of a Family, born into nobility and kept there because the father was one of the greatest Generals the Roman army had ever known. He married the prettiest woman in all of the Known World and the whole Empire planned on them having the most beautiful and physically perfect fleet of sons to follow their father's foot-steps in conquering the continent in the name of Rome."

"Something tells me that didn't work out, did it?" Faith asked. Buffy nodded knowingly and turned to face Faith again, her eyes leaving the sunset.

"It was said that both Aries and Artimus were claiming the glory for the success of Callisios; Lysistrata's father. When Zeus asked whom was really responsible so he could bestow them with gifts, Aries and Artimus got into a fight. When Hera asked them to compare who received more sacrifices from Callisios, they found they drew. Zeus laughed and simply gave the gifts to Aries, sure that Artimus could not be the one responsible. Artimus, angry at being spited, decided to make Callisios' first born son, which his wife was almost ready to give birth to, a girl at the last moment."

"Ooooh, she's not a Goddess to piss off, I guess."

"Damn right. But neither was Aries. He was planning on making Callisios' son the greatest warrior on earth, a triumph of Godly will upon man's destiny. So to spite the father, and the family as a whole, he killed the mother in child-birth. But Aries warned the father, now alone in the world with nothing but his little girl and armies to lead, that if she **_ever_** knew the Physical love of a man, she would turn back into a man."

"But Artimus gave the baby the gift of godly strength, intellect, and a keen mind. She was born as a Slayer. And she too placed a curse on the girl - had she ever know the love of a man; She would die. For these gifts were fit only for the greatest female warrior on earth, and without them, the body would shut-down."

"So what happened?"

"Well, despite himself, Callisios came to love his daughter very much, trained her as he would have a son as she **_was_** meant to be a warrior; a destiny chosen for her by the gods. Also, he never took another wife, and with living on the battle-field, she became rather masculinized in nature."

"So… she was a big, butchy bull-dyke?" Faith summed it up rather crudely. But Buffy nodded just the same.

"Pretty much." She grunted, obviously not liking Faith's word-choice, "But after winning the battle of… Uh… something-or-other; I suck at history – too many names and dates I can never connect… Anyways, _they won_, and Callisios got a letter from a fellow 'Well Bread' family, but they were Politicians, Senators, that sort of thing. This one told that his wife's life had been challenged several times in the past year and his body-guards didn't seem to be very effective in saving her life and he was beginning to mistrust them. He asked if Callisios could spare his daughter to act as a personal guard until his own private guard could figure out who was behind the attacks."

"How did he know about her at all?"

"She was kind of famous, like the Oracle of Delphi, but not quite as famous. Like Achilles or something; she was a hero. Also, the nature of her condition was legend; she sadly had men attempting to rape her quite frequently, it wasn't even blinked at it happened so often. Realizing that he'd made most of Lysistrata's decisions for her about how she'd live her life, and it was because of her up-bringing that she didn't know much about being a lady, Callisios wrote back and told the senator that his daughter would come to Rome and take order from him on how to guard his wife."

"He didn't ask her if she wanted to go?" Faith asked, still sounding a little shocked, "But then he's **_still_** making her choices for her."

"Well, he'd raised her to believe that people in cities and Politicians were grifters, wilely and untrustworthy. He also had a great deal of respect for men and physical prowess, so her needing to act like a Lady while in Rome was something he'd leave for the Senator to tell her. She'd never buy it from him. So he simply gave her the order papers, sent her off with a horse and a small guard to return once she'd been accepted into the man's house. And that was how she arrived in Rome; Dressed for battle, thinking she was on some kind of military up-date mission and expecting to return in a few days time."

"Okay, I can kind of get the not telling her 'cause it would make her not go part, B, but you have to agree that tricking your daughter like that – to try and make her 'A Lady' – is a mean stunt." At that the blond nodded.

"True. But think about what you already know about how the story ends?"

"She dies?" Faith ventured, "I mean… she must have. We're here, we're Slayers… Also this was about a billion years ago." Buffy just smiled and shook her head.

"I meant besides the glaringly obvious." She chuckled, "I meant the fact that I already told you this story was told by her lover, a title the author claimed even after her death, a title she stayed devoted to even when Lysistrata was gone. That their story took place mostly here in Rome, so you could easily assume they met here… Would you say the means justify the ends?" She looked so pointedly at Faith the brunette gulped.

Did the means justify the ends? Her life had been a house of shit built on a foundation of the same. It seemed like nothing good had come of any decision she'd ever made and no matter how hard she tried everything she did just made things worse for herself or the people she cared about… But then she thought of Buffy. She could honestly say that her choice to go to Sunnydale back after her watcher was killed was possibly the worst mistake she'd ever made; if she'd never gone, she'd never have met Buffy, or Allen Finch, and both their lives would be the better for it. But she wouldn't change that for anything.

Buffy. Knowing her, loving her, was a lot like what she thought having a soul was like. It wasn't some huge great powerful thing; it was a tiny bead of impossibly bright light. It was just enough to fight off a bit of the darkness, shine light on the real reasons people did what they did, felt what they did. A single spot of goodness that seemed to rub off on anything it touched. Allowed someone to live selflessly if they saw fit, to feel guilt, to love, and the more you gave into it the brighter it got; the more power it gave back to its owner. Buffy had been like that in her life, as though maybe she didn't have a soul without knowing the blonde. She believed it was highly possible.

"I dunno." Faith whispered, "Maybe on a case-by-case basis." She said vaguely, not wanting to try and convince the girl – yet again – she really did mean something to her. "How did they meet?"

"Well, when Lysistrata arrived and gave her papers to the guard, they all became very suspicious of all the secrecy behind it. She was only to be seen by Donion; the Senatar's personal guard and shown right in. She came dressed in her full battle garb, and with her hair tucked into her helmet, she simply looked like a young Infantry Man. Upon being given a formal meeting, she met Magnus, the man himself."

"Magnus?" Faith asked incredulously. Buffy nodded.

"It means The Magnificent. He liked to say even before birth everyone knew he was going to be a ruler of men… Sounds like a pompous man to me." Faith nodded.

"What happened when she found out she was leaving battle to play watch-dog to the rich and that she had to learn 'manors' and all that?" Buffy just smirked.

"I dunno… How's Robin Wood doing?" she asked pointedly. Faith glared back at her.

"That wasn't me playing watch-dog! We were in a relationship." Buffy's expression hadn't changed at all. Faith sighed and huffed. "Alright. I get it. Once a warrior, always a warrior." Buffy just smiled and pushed some hair back into place behind the girl's ear. "So… she was pissed?" Buffy nodded.

"Pretty damn pissed. She actually considered leaving, but these were the orders she'd been given, and even she could not escape the penalty of mutiny, even if from her father. Technically she was a still a Woman, little more than chattel, she had no rights but those the man in her life gave her – so disobeying an order from her father granted her no rights at all as she wasn't married."

"Wow… Shitty."

"Tell me about it." Buffy laughed, "But eventually she agreed, fell in line, and was asked to change into the robes of a Vestal Virgin; to act as his wife's new Lady in Waiting, a female guard in disguise."

"Ohhhh, lemme guess!" Faith said excitedly, "She falls in love with a real Vestal virgin, the wife gets killed, and they have to run away so they can live happily ever after?" Buffy shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"Worse than that I'm afraid. Sophetia, her lover, **_was_** Magnus' wife."

"Shit - you're lying!" Faith squeezed out between hearty laughs, "Sleeping with her boss' wife! I know it was her job to keep an eye on her, but I don't think he meant a hand and a few legs as well!" Buffy slapped her arm lightly, but giggled.

"The first attempt on her life was right here," Buffy said, nodding to the Coluseum behind her, "At a small terrace not far from here. She'd been forced to come along by her husband. Her witnessing the drinking and debauchery that took place on the lower levels made her faint so she went to the terrace to get some air. Once there someone charged her with a knife and her guard just barely grabbed her in time to save her life; dragging her back to the safety of her husband's company."

"Why were people trying to kill her?"

"They didn't know. They thought maybe it was just people trying to unsettle the upper-class and cause fear in the wealthier sections of society."

"Sounds like it was working." Faith laughed. Buffy nodded and sighed.

"They said she was a rare beauty, from decedents of a foreign land her beauty was uncommon for a land like Rome. This made her an easy target to the people trying to kill her – she was easy to spot in a crowd. But to be honest, the description made me feel a little sympathy towards Lysistrata; Sophetia sounded like quite a beautiful woman." Faith fidgeted a little uneasily.

"What did she look like?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Well, she was descended from the West Islands, which probably means Ireland and Scotland. She was pale, freckling and had '_hair like dying embers_'." Faith suddenly chuckled.

"That sounds like Willow!" then suddenly in the middle of her fit of laughter she looked sharply at Buffy to see the blonde was smirking, looking fixedly out into the distance. "… B?" Buffy laughed once and continued on with her story.

More of Chapter three to come, I just felt bad that I had so much and had to take a pause; the story will go on soon!

( To Be Continued…) ENJOY- for now.

VixenRaign

14


	4. Means, Ends, & The End

**TITLE**: **Roman Holiday**, Part Four  
**RATING**: R, but with sex.  
**WARNING**: Un-Beta'd! And! Shameless pimping of the fabulous country of Italy... just to warn you. PS: I don't remember much of my Italian, so some of this was 'translated' for me by an Italian-major friend of mine… _There really is sex in it this time, I swear! So take heed!_  
**PAIRING**: Buffy/Faith, Past Slayer/Female Lover  
**SPOILERS**: All of _BtVS_ and _AtS_ up to 5.19. I changed the name of the Immortal to the name of the original Immortal; Dorian Grey.  
**DISCLAIMER**: I own NOTHING, not even the title of the Fic, its barrowed from an old movie with the '_Breakfast At Tiffanies_' woman in it (Audrey Hepburn). All _BtVS_ and _AtS_ characters belong to Joss and his cronies, along with WB, Fox, UPN, and anyone else that might have a crack at them. The name Dorian Grey belongs to someone who's not me and whom I don't know. Any songs or lyrics used or listed belong to the noted artists, their albums, producers and distributors. ("_Let me Love You_" by Tim McGraw, from the album _**Set This Circus Down**_ © Curb Records, Inc.)  
**DEDICATION**: To the wonderful Dallas for her birthday, this is for you, as LTFF seems to have died on me. Hope this doesn't fall too short of your liking, though it might not be _**Birds Of Prey**_. _The thought of leaving someone unsatisfied being a good idea, was inspired by my Ducky - - Love you babe!_**  
SUMMERY**: Faith gets sick of life with Wood and is hired as a 'Special Correspondent' to the New Counsel. When an assignment takes her to Rome, she realizes that not just the weather is hot in "The Eternal City".

**Summery Part One**: As Faith arrives in Rome to begin her questioning of Buffy about her recent life-style choices for Willow and Giles, she is then taken to dinner by Buffy where she gets somewhat drunk. They get attacked by a Vamp, steal his arm, and make out on Buffy's couch – an event that Buffy puts a sudden stop to - - much to Faith's disappointment and confusion. After revealing that she is indeed in love with the blonde, Buffy blows it off as a drunken out-burst of misguided affection and beer-goggles, and Faith passes out on the couch.  
**Summery Part Two**: Faith does some thinking about what made her realize why she fell for Buffy in the first place, and tries to prove to the blonde that she does love her - even while sober. She still doesn't believe Faith when she confesses a second time (thinking it's a matter of pride to her now), and is at a lost of what to do to make the blonde believe. Buffy takes her around the city the next two days; churches, movies, Internet cafes, shopping, and nice dinners; and some naughty, wild dancing in a fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps. They're both falling in love - _obviously_.  
**Summery Part Three**: As Faith's time in Rome starts to fall through the hour-glass the girls become more physically comfortable with one another, in almost constant contact with intimacy of varying degrees. Visiting the Ancient Center, Nero's Palace, and finally the Colosseum; as the sun begins to set on Faith's last day Buffy begins to spin a tale of a past Slayer's love in the amazing city almost 2000 years before.

_**The Following Chapter has been censured for – If you wish to read the original version, instructions are at the end of the chapter. **_

"**Roman Holiday**"

**Chapter Four**: _Means, Ends, and The End…_

"… While I won't deny that Willow does have a unique kind of beauty," Buffy smoothed, "the most flattering thing about the descriptions of Sophetia was that she seemed quite critical of herself. The most flattering terms she used to describe herself were ones Lysistrata had told her in rare moments of poetic-thinking." Faith let out a deep mental sigh. Small favors, thank you - thank you - thank you.

"So I don't get it," Faith stated, "Did they ever actually hook up, or was this an Anna Leonowens – King Monkut kind of relationship?" Buffy turned to look at the brunette, her expression pleasantly surprised. Faith just grinned deeply, "I do read, B. But for the record I'm also a big Jodie Foster fan; any woman who can do her own dubbing is hot in my book!" Buffy almost choked on her own laughter, but managed to keep her mouth shut.

"Uh, yes. They did '_hook up_', as you put it." Buffy blushed deeply at this and examined the stone rail she was leaning against very closely before taking a shuddering breath and looking back at Faith with slightly shifty eyes. Faith got the message Buffy was trying so hard not to send.

"Man, that good?" she teased, "I might have to get my hands on this Slayer Journal!" Buffy bit her lip and turned a deeper shade of red. "How'd it go down?" she asked, sort of liking Buffy's way of relaying the story.

"Well, at first Sophetia was kind of weirded out by Lysistrata; she was never more than 6 paces away from her, she hardly ever spoke, even when spoken to – always curt and minimalist answers. She was always there, following silently, standing at the window balcony at night with her back to the sleeping woman. She never seemed to rest, and she never seemed to leave. At first she found it unnerving, the woman's apparent dislike for her when she knew that her life was in Lysistrata's hands, so she went to see her husband – a meeting which she demanded to be in absolute privacy – for reassurance that this was a wise choice."

"Did Magnus have her sacked?" Faith asked, doubting it.

"Nope. The senator told Sophetia that Lysistrata was not asked to work the hours she did; that those were self-appointed by the Slayer herself. That the woman did take breaks, as one of Magnus' personal guards, _Donion_, was the only one the woman had trusted to watch his wife in her absence. Sophetia thought about this as she left, Lysistrata tailing silently behind her." Buffy shrugged, "I admit I would have found it creepy too."

"Ditto." Faith grunted, leaning on the wall, very close to Buffy. She tried to push out of her mind what Buffy would do had she ever found Faith watching her from her bedroom windowsill on those nights before they were in opposition. She was pretty sure it would go over about as well.

"But that night Sophetia was determined to see if her new personal guard did ever actually leave, she faked sleeping all night, but Lysistrata never left. She stayed there, at the door to the balcony all night, unflinchingly at attention…" a sweet smile graced Buffy's lips, "The next morning near dawn, Sophetia – exhausted and slightly agitated – finally just blurted out '_don't you ever sleep?_'."

"Ha! I could see **myself** doing that!" Faith chuckled. "What did Listing-ricotta do?" Buffy looked almost smug as she replied.

"The Slayer slowly turned around, looking a little worn herself, and told her '_Not until you are sleeping first._'. She said she didn't like the idea of Sophetia waking up and finding some stranger watching her. She trusted herself to keep the woman safe, but even she needed her rest once and a while… She didn't want her to feel like she was ever alone." Buffy went on slowly, almost dreamily, "To help let her know that Lysistrata would always be there when she'd need it. And even when she didn't."

"Wow." Faith muttered, "Powerful shit." She recently knew what it took to admit that kind of devotion, even it to unhearing ears.

"It then occurred to her that perhaps Lysistrata actually liked her, but never having any friends, and certainly not any like Sophetia, she was expressing it in the only ways she knew how; through her strength."

"So when do they finally get pelvic?" She asked as crudely as possible, trying to slice through some of the tension and possibly even make Buffy laugh again. _Or blush_, Faith thought, _she's hot when she's pink-cheeked_. Getting the full grand slam of all three accomplished, she grinned as Buffy cleared her throat.

"Well, glad to see your time in Italy has expanded your romantic vocabulary." She shot the brunette a look of inpatients that didn't hide a smile very well. Buffy's expression was one of false passive-indifference. "One day they came in from a walk in the gardens, having actually broken down Lysistrata's barriers enough by this time to have spent the last two hours having a conversation, and found that her personal bather was missing. When they sent another servant to find her it was implied that she was being _detained_ by Magnus..."

"Wait." Faith interrupted, "He was fucking her bathing-lady?" she sounded pissed; like she actually cared. Buffy just nodded, not missing a thing.

"In those days, the Male would have free reign over every woman in the house. Wife, concubine, servant, slave; I'm sure in some circumstances this included the young men."

"Man, that sucks." She shook her head, "Unless you're the guy where that just kicks ass!" Buffy looked like she expected no less to come out of Faith's mouth, but smiled anyway. "So come on, get to the good bits!" she said impatiently, in that 'down-low-tickle' tone of hers. Buffy stayed pink as peach and tried to continue on in an almost business like tone.

"Well, at first they decided to wait, but they soon realized that Magnus was going to be taking his time. For years Sophetia tried to repress how all this sleeping around made her feel; she knew her husband only bedded her as a last resort, which was hardly ever. Though she managed to keep it out of her mind most of the time, it made her feel pretty inadequate - - not to mention lonely! Because only he was allowed to have sex with other women, if she slept with other men she could be killed." Buffy didn't last very long before she started babbling…

"_**Aaaaaand**_…?" Faith pressed her for the rest of it, while pressing her side into the Slayer's. Buffy actually did turn red in the orange light of the sunset. The blonde cleared her throat.

"Well, Lysistrata started preparing the bath. Taking the hot rocks, putting them in the water, adding powders and perfumes and minerals… " She stopped again.

"Damn, girlfriend, this must be a good read if the mental images are slowing you down this much!" The older woman bumped their hips together, hard, plainly saying '_stop teasing me!_' and she tried to go on.

"She… She bathed her." She said hesitantly. "Very, very thoroughly." She said, but she got a slightly far-away look in her eyes. "_**very thoroughly**_…" she muttered more to herself. Faith actually chuckled.

"Hmmm, lemme guess which bits she paid particular attention to – " Faith pretended to think about it for a while. Buffy ducked her head down and pressed the backs of her fingers against her cheeks, trying to calm her reddening face.

"Yes, well, it sounded quite romantic." She said as she cleared her throat one last time. "She put Sophetia into bed, who had started to cry. She was worried she'd effect the spell that said Lysistrata would die, that what she'd done would get one or both of them killed. And, because she had enjoyed it."

"She cried because she finally had good sex with someone that actually cared about her?" Faith asked, disbelieving. Buffy looked her right in the eyes and quietly asked her;

"Does that seem so wrong?" she almost whispered, "Feeling guilty that you enjoyed something you knew you shouldn't have done? That something so moving could be wrong? Or something as pleasurable lead to something as painful; getting your partner killed or yourself?" Faith quieted. Shooting Angel, watching Buffy hurt, her own jealousy, the small satisfaction of knowing that with death came absolution when the blonde arrived with the knife in hand. Means and Ends, yet again.

"Is that how the Slayer died? Did Magnus find out?" Faith asked, voice a little raspy with the effort of repressing old memories.

"Worse. Not to ruin the ending should you ever read it but; One night, as Sophetia slept, as Lysistrata was heading to sleep herself – he ordered; incredibly drunk, for her to offer submission… so he could rape her. When she said she never would, that she would fight him off; he told her what would happen to her. Beating a Senator in his own house, for whatever reason. His guards would catch her, would find her, and even if they didn't; he would have Sophetia killed."

"What?" Faith pushed off the wall, looking at (what she felt) was the overly calm expression on the older woman's face. "Why? I thought you said he didn't know about their relationship?"

"He didn't, at first, and then he just didn't care. But once Sophetia started making excuses not to bed her husband, he wanted to experience it for himself. He also knew it was the card to play to get her to actually do it… He said he wanted to see if the Myths were true; if she would turn into a man when they were done and then die."

"So what happened?"

"She submitted… and she didn't die, and she became so angry that she'd allowed that to happen she tried to attack him. And Magnus was right, it took almost all his guards, but they finally detained her." Buffy sighed deeply, sadly, "And brought her here." She said, turning around to face the pits in the floor of the Colosseum. Faith's eyes bugged.

"Tell me your kidding."

"He sold her into slavery; to be a gladiator at the games. Imagine; the great Lysistrata found to be a criminal and fighting at the Colosseum. But she didn't fight the whole way there, didn't try to leave. And the next morning, when Sophetia woke up; she was gone."

"Shit; she must have known something was wrong – her girlfriend being around every waking moment then suddenly… not?" Faith shook her head, looking down into the stadium herself, imagining. Buffy nodded mutely next to her.

"As soon as she woke up she asked Donion, Her husband's formal guard, the only other person Lysistrata trusted, where the Slayer had been taken. He told her, honestly and with deep regret, and she headed off to the Colosseum herself, Donion fallowing in her wake. The two of them used their combined power of persuasion and authority to see her, and eventually break her out…" Buffy voice suddenly became slowed and so thick with sadness that she'd stopped.

"Well, that's good," Faith said slowly as though to reassure her, "They saved the day." Buffy gave a half-hearted shrug.

"She died a year later." Faith's heart hurt just hearing it. "She felt like she'd been tricked, lied too; she'd been raped to save the life of the woman she loved, thinking she wouldn't have to live with the pain of knowing she'd let it happen to herself… She died of a broken heart, or so the story goes. But one of the last things she told Sophetia as she got weaker and weaker, was that even with all the suffering she'd gone through she wouldn't change a thing. That as long as she knew – _**knew**_ – that Sophetia's love was genuine, her life had some meaning, some normality, some small bit of honesty."

"What happened to Sophetia after her lover died?"

"She went further south, joined the Hestian order, and lived out the rest of her days copying scriptures and writing the story of Lysistrata and her love. It was one of the few found in tact centuries later because it had been so well hidden." Faith nodded at this, deciding that all joking aside this sounded like her kind of story; even if she already knew the ending. _If knowing the plot ruins the story_, Faith thought, _then it isn't worth reading_.

"And if that was me in the past, I still wouldn't regret it." Buffy said, a little guarded, "Because if that never happened, then I wouldn't be here now. Some of the biggest choices I have made in my life would have been completely different, and I never would have found this place, or this connection to it…" Faith could see tears gathering in Buffy's pale-brown eyelashes, "And then you never would have had to come all the way out here to see me." She quickly turned to look at Faith, as though trying to get something out while she still had the nerve to do it.

"Faith – I didn't realize how much I missed you until I had you back in my life again. I didn't appreciate how much life you bring with you until I realized how dead I was inside when you're not around. So if all the mistakes I made in this lifetime or any of the others were what it took to get us both here, then I thank whatever gods may be responsible for pulling the strings to make it happen. I've had you all to myself these past four days and now that you're getting ready to leave again I feel like someone's just sold me to the lions…" She babbled slightly, but Faith could tell she had a point.

Reaching out, Faith placed her hands on the blonde's shoulders, rubbing them gently with the pads of her thumbs, feeling the tingle in her eyes at the sweet words she hoped to god were genuine. Buffy looked away at the now maroon sky; empty save the afterglow from behind the hills;

"Faith I just want you to know, that if you really do love me; I…" she trailed off, and Faith leaned closer, pulling her into a tight embrace, their temples touching. "I think I might love you back." She said it so hesitantly, so quietly, Faith knew what she really meant;

_I love you. I need you. But I'm afraid of what that means, of what that could do to me. Because I need you with me_. Faith let her tears fall and smiled the first watery-smile since she could remember. The blonde buried her face in the crook of the brunette's neck, and she felt a thick stream of tears roll down the neckline of her shirt.

"Shhh, B, come on; don't cry." She pleaded weakly, her own voice raspy with emotion, happiness, but still teary. Buffy just nestled in deeper before pulling back, looking sheepish and nervous, emotions she'd thought the blonde had out-grown. Or so it had seemed, the past few days.

"I'm sorry I got so angry with you. It was just - - after your first night here, I thought about it, and I realized I wished it was real, so when you said it again I felt so teased, it made me so **mad**!" her voice cracked and she took a shuddering breath, "I hoped that, maybe if you were kidding, maybe I could show you – I mean, I wanted to show you, hopefully – that… should you ever… that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing. To have feelings for me, I mean…"

Faith could see how much it was hurting her to say this, how afraid she was to chance even uttering these things out-loud, how confused and worried and nervous it all made her; ringing her hands, pacing half a step in any direction, her cheeks pale and her breathing shallow… She'd heard enough. More than that, but by the sounds of it she'd made Buffy suffer about as much as the blonde had forced her to suffer by calling her a liar every time she'd opened up her heart to tell her how she felt. So she kissed her.

A soft, small kiss, barely on her lips as the blonde took her last awkward step (a little to the left). Turing her large, watery eyes on Faith, she froze again, worried that maybe the world was about to come crashing down around her as the brunette opened her mouth to speak.

"I love you, B. Without repentance and without hesitation. And though our paths getting here were more than just a little complicated and rocky; I think you're right. Any altered step along the way and our destinations would have been entirely different. So here's to pain and suffering, and mistakes and bad choices; I thank you for each and every one of them, and I ask your forgiveness for not regretting them. Because they brought me here so I could be with you; they gave me this chance – _**finally**_," Buffy gave one wet chuckle,

" – to show you that there is no place in this great big world that I would rather be." She said softly, a little shocked that something so charged would come out so well. She was no Shakespeare, _but you have to admit, that was pretty damn good!_ Buffy sniffled slightly, looking happy and (if it were possible) even more nervous. Faith just chuckled, wrapped her arms tightly around this amazingly brave and frightened woman.

Buffy's eyes stayed glued to those large, soft lips expectantly; her tongue hesitantly darting out to wet her own as she shook in Faith's warm embrace. It was odd that Faith, who'd admired Buffy for her prowess and skill, could be so moved by her obvious fear; perhaps it showed a depth of honesty she was just all too thankful for…

"Faith?" Buffy started, as though to asker her a question. Faith wasn't listening. Leaning down she pressed her lips to the blonde's, who kissed her back, hesitantly, as though worried she'd do something wrong and scare the younger woman away. That was really not an issue. Buffy was the best kisser she'd met so far, and that was saying a lot. She was not disappointed.

"Eh, 'scuzie, Signora," came from behind them, "De Colloseum is clos'ed; whattar you steell doing 'ere?" As they broke apart, both girls blushed heartily before the man chuckled. "Ah, sei, _you_ a-gain!" he said, pointing at Buffy, "I think I 'ave let you get away with dees too off'ten." And indicated that he wanted them to follow, though he didn't really seem all that upset that they had stayed past closing. Unlocking the giant Iron gates and waving them out, the man shook his head smiling as the two girls left; arms wrapped around each other's waists.

Buffy's hand spent the entire cab-ride low on the brunette's hip, wrapped around her waist as she sat almost on the younger woman's lap, her nose tickling the under-side of Faith's chin. Life was good, and sweet, Faith decided. "Hey B?" She asked, looking into the blonde's face, just inches from hers.

"Hmm?" she mumbled contentedly.

"You're not just saying this because you want be to give you a clean bill of morality to Red and Lord Paisley-Tweed are you?" The older woman laughed heartily in response, and then tried to take on a look of offence.

"You dare to assume my feelings so shallow and frivolous?" The brunette looked back just as playfully.

"Love at first sight, invoked by millennia-old Slayer history and bondage?" she questioned, chuckling, "What sounds more feasible to you?" Buffy just shook her head.

"You obviously have a great deal to learn about me."

"I feel like I already have," she smiled, genuinely, being sure to catch her eyes, "And I look forward to it." Buffy blushed in response, but held fast.

"Well you're about to get your chance." Faith's eyebrows rose slowly.

"Oh really?" Her voice was hopeful.

"Oh yeah." Buffy grinned wickedly, "I'm going to let you finish your interview tonight." Faith laughed suddenly, and nodded. _I should have seen that coming_… "And then I'm gonna take you dancing."

By the time they got back to the apartment it was almost dinnertime. Faith sat on one of the couches, her folder in her lap, pen in hand, calling questions back to Buffy as she changed in her room.

"Did he ever take you to the theatre?" Faith called, reading from the pallet she'd been given.

"Do rock concerts count as theatre?" Buffy asked, the skepticism in her voice managing to make it even through her bedroom door.

"Really?" Faith asked, interested, "Who?"

"Few groups…" the blonde called back.

"Who the hell would an immortal Casanova see in concert?" Faith muttered to herself.

"Radiohead, P!NK, Sting," came from directly behind her, the older Slayer leaning over the back of the couch, reading the brunette's notes. "He likes a bit of everything. Just not rap." Faith eyes bugged.

Buffy was dressed in a gorgeous red dress, light and flowing, tickling her knees. Her hair was pulled up at the back of her head, small curls bouncing freely from the clip holding them up, looking perfect yet accidental – flawless. The grin was what completed the ensemble, however. It was part playful, part sultry, with a gentle hint of shyness in her eyes.

"Really." Faith said, distractedly, enjoying the thin straps of the dress as it revealed so much bare, tan shoulder. Buffy blushed, flattered, and cleared her throat.

"He also took me to see the Roman Symphony, and we had tickets to see _Carmen_ once, but I had to cancel because Dawn got the flu and needed me home with her." Finally Faith managed to snap herself out of it and shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Uhm, okay…" Faith trailed off, looking at the last of the questions. "The rest are all pretty short, I think." She looked back at the blonde, willing herself to get through this so they could go out and she could see just how well that dress moved. "Did you ever lend him money?"

"Nope."

"Get a drawer to keep your stuff at his place?"

"No."

"Exchange house-keys?"

"Nope."

"Exchange blood?"

"No!"

"Accept gifts of over a $5,000 value?"

"His advice as a financial consultant?" Buffy asked back. Faith just shrugged and smirked.

"I'm pretty sure we're good here." Buffy smiled when she heard this and closed the file. "Ready to go, B?"

"I am." She said nodding as they both stood up, "But you're not." She pulled something from behind her back. She handed a small, shiny black shopping bag to the brunette and watched as she hesitantly took it. Pushing aside the tissue paper, she peeked and saw something shimmer. _Oh shit…_ Faith thought, _she bought me a dress._

"B, I know you've been trying to get me to wear more feminine things since I got here, but – "

"Would you just open it!" Buffy insisted, laughing.

What the younger girl pulled from the bag was short. Very short. So short it was obviously not a dress. It was silk, light and delicate, with lace around the base and at the collar that dipped into a healthy "V". It looked almost like lingerie. Faith loved it already. Raising an eyebrow at the blonde, the Slayer couldn't help the way the corners of her mouth curled evilly. Buffy just shook her head and chuckled.

"To wear with your leather pants!" the blonde insisted. "The place where we're going is a little too nice for tank-tops and shorts." She explained. Faith's face still held a knowing expression. "I swear, it's just a shirt." Buffy giggled, covering her mouth as her cheeks tinged red.

"Suuuuure it is, B." She winked, walking into Buffy's room to change into her new leather pants, thankful that the evening had been a lot cooler than the day. Just as she was about to close the door, Buffy caught it, catching her attention.

"Doesn't mean I didn't take a moment to think what you might look like wearing **only** the shirt." Faith's jaw actually dropped open a little. Closing the door for her, Buffy wiggled her fingers at her a little in a wave. _Holy fuck…_ Faith thought, frozen and gaping at the back of the bedroom door, _what the fuck have I missed?_

Quickly pulling her clothes on and lacing her boots, she looked at herself in the mirror. The material of the shirt was somewhere between deep, midnight blue and a deep violet depending on how the light hit it. The lace was black and she had to admit, it contrasted perfectly with her olive skin. She ran the brush through her hair once or twice, then used her fingers. She pressed the back of her fingers to her cheeks, willing the blush to leave them before stepping out of the room once more. Opening the door she was greeted with the vision of Buffy running her hands up her legs as she finished putting her strappy sandals on.

"Ready if you are." Faith grunted, no longer sure what exactly she was ready for. Buffy grinned.

They started out, not talking, walking side by side, stealing glances at one another, and grinning like mad when they'd caught each other's eye. Buffy eventually reached out and took the brunette's hand, eyes fixed ahead of her on the street. Faith chuckled and withdrew her hand so she could drape it around the smaller woman's waist.

"So how far is it?"

"Not far. Close enough that it would be a waste of money to call a cab." She turned to grin at the woman holding her loosely, "Besides, that ruins the mystery. The whole point of this place is that it's hidden. Only the people who've been there ever really know how to find it."

"So is it guarded by magic or something? A cloaking spell?" Buffy just laughed.

"No. It just looks like any old building from the outside. You'd never be able to guess that there's a restaurant, bar, and an entire club inside it. You can't hear it from the street, and there're no lines queued up outside…"

"So how did you hear about it?" Faith asked, pretty sure she knew the answer. _That Immortal guy sure knows how to impress a worldly woman…_

"Was walking one night, patrolling, and saw a few people leaving… thought I'd discreetly follow them home to make sure they didn't get eaten in their slightly inebriated state. Came back the following night to see what it was. Now it's become one of my regular places."

They came upon a tall, square sort of building, maybe four or five stories high, made of mortar and stone like most of the buildings in the area. It matched the district with its beautiful, carved stone arches over the large wooden doors, with iron studs in them, and over the windows. But the windows were what gave it away. Where they were four-paned and wood accented, like all the others, the glass itself was frosted, obscuring the interior. This seemed to be the only distinguishing feature. Buffy pushed the large door open with ease, even for a Slayer.

The floor of the light, cream-colored foyer, all the way to the far end of the entrance, was not ornate marble or even wood, but the entire floor was covered in smooth stones about the size of Faith's palm. At the far end of the entrance lay two paths; one, up a few shallow stairs led to a blue doorway with white accents, opposite lay a red door down a short ramp. On the floor lay a woman, doing some kind of interpretive dance, slow, almost like tai chi – but on her back. In amongst the rocks. That made the younger Slayer slightly uneasy. Looking over at her blonde counterpart, she was glad to see Buffy was smirking in a way that gave away that she was trying not to laugh as well.

"Think she's the matrede?" She joked. Faith just placed her hand on the small of the older girl's back in a silent plea for them to leave this strange room with it's thumping Brazilian music playing. Buffy paused at the far end and asked "Food or drinks first?"

"Drinks." Faith said solidly. "And after that, I want to dance." She knew she sounded like a kid who'd been promised a cookie after they did their homework and had come to collect. It made Buffy grin.

"You're not hungry?"

"For olives in my martinis and cherries in my mai tai." She said, almost impatiently.

"How about mint in your mojito?" Buffy took the brunette's hand, placed in on her shoulder and walked her through the red door slightly down the ramp. The music changed dramatically, becoming distinctly more lyricless and intended for dancing, and also inescapably European in nature. In strange bubble-ish letters "BAR" was spelled out in neon lights. Faith had the feeling it was meant to be some kind of satirical mockery of an American bar, but didn't care.

The room was crowded, though not packed and as they walked towards the bar, Faith was confused when Buffy led them right past it. Through a door to the right, down another, narrow hall with ramped floor, they came out in onto a sort of indoor balcony in another blue room, with strange white mosquito-net like curtains in the middle of the room. Climbing down a strange staircase to the main floor and through another door they came out yet another red room.

Where they finally emerged was a smaller, angular room with a slightly sloping floor and another bar, this one with no sign. This room was kind of packed, though was probably due it it's smaller scale. The music, however, was nothing like any of the other rooms. It was country music. Both American, and some strange European amalgamation of it. Buffy turned and smiled over her shoulder at Faith, then looked at the people around them, as though asking her to take in her surroundings.

There were many European looking women, and what she knew must have been European men – though her first inclination was that they looked like Gay, American men by the way they were dressed. Tight, straight-legged, dark jeans, snug tank-tops and cowboy hats on a number of them. She couldn't help but chuckle. This reminded her a lot of that time she went to a few clubs in San Francisco.

"Want me to get the drinks while you get your bearings?" Buffy joked. Faith just nodded, looking around. The bar itself looked like a large ticket booth like you'd see outside of old movie theatres. The lights inside were bright, white, and shining down on a tall, gaunt Italian woman with striking features who worked at a furious pace to fill orders of drinks. As Buffy approached, Faith saw her rather distracted expression break into a grin and she began conversing rather rapidly with the little blond.

Squeezing in a bit closer between the many bodies dancing on the floor between the brunette and her prize, she watched cautiously as the woman behind the bar obviously lowered her voice so Buffy would lean in closer. Faith growled under the music for no one to hear. Buffy leaned back suddenly, laughing loudly at whatever was said. Faith slowly squeezed closer, awkwardly stationary in the middle of a huddle of dancing bodies. She watched as the bartender filled two glasses with ice, mint leaves and raw sugar and smashed them with a pestle before pulling a few bottle-tricks as she filled them. _Show-off…_ Faith thought to herself.

"Dovete ballare con io, bella ragazza…" She heard in her ear. Faith turned suddenly to find a man, gorgeous, dancing very close to her. He'd obviously been there for a few long moments, waiting for her to notice him. She had no idea what he said… well, except for the _Bella Ragazza_ part. She'd heard that before. She was so shocked to find him, _right there_, and he was so remarkably beautiful, she had the fleeting feeling he was descendant of some mythical Roman god. Good lord, he must have been. She caught herself staring, but shook herself out of it.

Glancing back towards the bar she saw Buffy had gone. The striking bartender leaned on her counter looking fixedly at something, and Faith knew it must have been Buffy and tried to follow her gaze. "No, signore. No grazie."

"So you have learned some Italian." Buffy chuckled, popping up from nowhere on her right. She handed Faith her drink and smiled at her, positively beaming. The man wondered off, forgotten. "Dione is a beautiful man," the blonde said, between cute little sips of her drink, "His attentions are greatly coveted."

"So are yours, apparently." Faith said winking, taking a deep drink for her glass. The coolness of the ice soothed the heat of the blush on her face, but the heat of the alcohol relieved some of the tension in her gut. Buffy closed her eyes and cast her head downward at Faith's comment.

"Isabella is a kind woman," Buffy chuckled into Faith's ear as she scooted closer, "With a crush made worse by the fact I have never indulged her." Faith nodded, glad to hear it, though not willing to admit it. She silently took another drink, and sucked on a small piece of ice.

"This is really good." She said, raising her glass in a small salute. Buffy nodded, taking longer sips through her narrow straw.

"Half the reason I come here." Buffy smiled, turning her head up to look at Faith, making her hair fall perfectly around her face. Faith did exactly as she knew she was expected, and pushed the lose curls back behind the blonde's ear.

"And the other half?" she asked, not bothering to hide the huskiness her voice had taken on.

"To dance." At this Faith finished her drink and plopped it onto a tray as a server passed by before taking Buffy's and doing the same.

"Then lets!" and with that she wrapped an arm around the tiny woman and led her into the thick of the mass of bodies. Faith was not terribly familiar with the Country Genre of music, being from Boston, and lately becoming an international traveler. To say that, lately, the United States was not the most popular nation in the world… was obvious. So one of it's most prized creations, Country Music, was not always widely received with welcome.

"Wanna tell me why you like the room with the stereotypically American music?" Faith asked, wrapping an arm around the blonde's middle, the smaller woman's back pressed against her front as she snaked an arm up around the brunette's neck. It was impossible for Faith not to be reminded of their dancing in the fountain at the Spanish Steps at that moment. The way Buffy moved was just as hypnotizing in some way.

"It's fun!" Buffy defended, "Completely ridiculous story-telling, but usually a good beat to dance to." She turned around so she was facing her slightly taller partner. "I know, not the classiest fare, but certainly makes for interesting company." She said, smiling and nodding to her left where the Adonis that'd tried to dance with her earlier could be seen pulling a pack of cigarettes from the holster at his hip. Faith threw her head back and laughed, open-mouthed. Something about it was just so funny, the bastardization of the American Identity. _The term Spaghetti Western comes to mind_, she thought.

They danced for hours, their bodies hardly letting go of each other unless deemed absolutely necessary. Buffy would merely raise her hand into the air and give some kind of complicated wave and a drink tray would come to them, cool mojitos to order. When a very fast-paced and slightly wilder song came on, the crowd's dancing changed to fit the mood. Both Buffy and Faith, a fair few drinks into their evening, gamely changed along with it. The Slayers clasped their hands and almost swing-danced to the quicker tune, lyrics about a wild evening evading the police and starting a bar-fight… Neither could stop laughing the entire time.

Just as the song stopped, Faith was reeling in Buffy from a complicated twirl and she lost her footing, effectively being caught by the brunette. At first they both chuckled, Faith's arms wrapped securely around the blonde's midsection. Then, as if by some eerie cue, the Spanish-style guitar of the next song began as they connected eyes, and both of them froze as their laughter simultaneously died.

_**Sometimes, I close my eyes,**_

_**And imagine you with me…**_

Faith slowly pulled Buffy up, still holding her securely at the base of her ribs. She kept one hand across the smaller woman's middle, and extending her right out to the side. Buffy reached out and laid hers gently in its grasp, head turned to the side, so that she might look at the brunette over her shoulder. They fell into a slow and sensual dance, like a slow-burning, lustful tango…

_**Chasing passion into the night,**_

_**All tangled in a dream…**_

_**Oh! If you could see my heart!**_

_**The way I feel inside,**_

_**You would know just how far,**_

_**I'm willing to go,**_

_**To get to you,**_

_**There is nothing I won't do,**_

_**Let me show you what it's like,**_

_**To lose control,**_

_**Free the desire in your soul,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

Faith stared hard into the sea-green eyes mere inches from her face, and felt her breathing quicken. Her gaze was drawn to the parted lips of her partner, where she knew hurried breaths were rapidly escaping. She could feel the heavy rhythm of her heart through their connected bodies as she concentrated on the dance, needing to move against her Lover.

_**Let me take you to a place,**_

_**Like nowhere else,**_

_**Show you the things,**_

_**You have never felt,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

_**Oh, I want to taste your kiss,**_

_**Be the reason for your smile,**_

_**Touch the magic on you skin,**_

_**Be the one that drives you wild,**_

_**Oh! If you could read my mind,**_

_**You know you're everything I need,**_

_**You'd see yourself through my eyes,**_

_**Then you'd understand,**_

_**What I'm going through,**_

_**And just how much –**_

_**I want you –**_

_**Let me show you what it's like,**_

_**To lose control,**_

_**Free the desire in your soul,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

_**Let me take you to a place,**_

_**Like nowhere else,**_

_**Show you the things,**_

_**You have never felt,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

_**Let me love you,**_

_**Let me love you,**_

_**Oh, let me love you,**_

_**Yeah…**_

Faith's feet suddenly became aware of how much room they had been given to move on this previously crowded floor. Her eyes never left the face and body of her partner, but she knew they must have gleaned an audience from their previous fellow patrons. She didn't care, she merely spun her agile lover around, changing her grip, slinging an arm low around her lovers back, and twining the other with the blonde's. Moving into a more traditional tango, they danced slowly, carefully, and oddly like warriors in battle.

_**Let me show you what it's like,**_

_**To lose control,**_

_**Free the desire in your soul,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

_**Let me take you to a place,**_

_**Like nowhere else,**_

_**Show you the things,**_

_**You have never felt,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

_**Let me show you what it's like,**_

_**To lose control,**_

_**Free the desire in your soul,**_

_**Oh! Let me love you!**_

As the final strings of the song played out and the dancers froze in the tableau of a kiss, the rest of the club yelled and catcalled in various languages. The Slayers broke apart smiling, holding in a laugh. They must have made quite a scene of themselves.

"Where did you learn to dance?" Buffy whispered, not yet releasing from her embrace.

"Middle-school P.E." she said, running both her hands down the smaller woman's back, dropping her into a low dip before leaning down to kiss her sensually. Faith grinned when she heard the room practically explode at that.

Smiling, she let her partner up. Both laughed, wrapping their arms around each other's necks. The DJ said something over the system that Faith couldn't understand but it made the blonde bury her face deeper into her partner's neck before kissing her there. "I definitely need a break after that." She said into the brunette's ear. Faith released her, good-naturedly.

"I'll be right back," Buffy swore, backing away, the largest, goofiest grin Faith had ever seen adorning her face as she headed back into the main part of the building.

Faith was suddenly approached by two German college students asking her about her dancing and her partner. They asked her if she knew of any gay clubs in Rome, to which Faith replied that she wasn't actually from around here – she was just a brief visitor herself. They looked disappointed, so Faith suggested that they ask Buffy – though secretly she doubted that the blonde would know of any, either… Gay-friendly? Maybe. Exclusive? Probably not. At least, she didn't think so…?

After going to the bar as ordering a shot of whiskey and a coke, she was unable to shake the unnerving feeling that 'Isabella' was sizing her up. She also noticed that when her drinks were placed in front of her, it was with a fair bit of excess force. Wincing at the loud _Clink!_ of the two glasses, Faith pointedly look away when she laid the ten-euro note on the bar. Quickly downing her shot, she left the tiny glass and grabbed her soda as she looked back over the dance-floor.

There were two doors – the one they came in through across from the bar, and one to it's right. The one to the right was wide archway, with three skinny steps into yet another one of those dim rooms with the heavy blue lights. After watching the main door for a few long minutes and not seeing Buffy return, she decided to check out the small, connecting blue alcove.

One whole side of it was lined with what would have been large booths – except they weren't booths. They were beds. Three **huge** beds, spanning wall-to-wall, separated with partitions, and with small tables in the center of them. Across from each bed on the opposite wall was a plush couch, built right into the structure. All the resting surfaces were covered in soft, milk-white leather; the blue lights of the room making them glow iridescently. A group of what appeared to be fashionistas were occupying the first couch, looking her over with half-approval and curiosity. Turning away from them, she looked at the figure lying on the bed across from them.

It was Buffy.

Her red dress appeared almost black against the bright white of the bed, the lamps distorting the color. She lay with her head all the way back against what would have been the pillows, her legs drawn up only slightly, and her knees together. An arm thrown over her eyes, she appeared to be catching her breath.

Faith stood with her knees against the foot of the mattress, drawing her eyes slowly up the beautiful form that lay on the bed in front of her. The blonde must have sensed her there because she cleared her throat nervously and moved her arm away from her face, laying it instead on the pillows behind her. Faith actually stopped breathing for a moment. Buffy blushed under her close scrutiny.

"B," Faith murmured, reaching forward and laying her drink down on the table next to the blonde. She quickly and impatiently crawled up the bed, laying herself over the smaller woman and kissing her hastily. Buffy wrapped her arms securely around Faith's neck, letting her fingers get lost in the soft, perfect waves of pure coffee strands. The younger woman kept her balance with a hand on the mattress next to them, the other flat against the blonde's hip and stomach, stroking urgently, teasing. Their kisses grew more intense, until finally Faith laid her hand over her partner's breast, holding it in her palm…

_**( The Following Scene Has Been Cut Due to 'Adult' Content…)**_

"Faith-" She began, but stopped. She looked down at the woman next to her,; her smiling face and playful eyes; and was silenced by the many things she saw. "You're really kind of beautiful." She said slowly, quietly, underneath the loud country music from the next room. She knew the younger girl heard her when the brunette's dimples reappeared. Faith stilled her hand at the small of the blonde's back and sighed.

"Come on," Buffy said, grabbing Faith's hand and pulling her up. "I kind of arranged something that we're now going to be late for." As they left the Club, Faith was made aware of the time – it must have been some kind of un-godly hour because almost no one was out on the streets. Not even the students and backpackers, just the gypsies.

"So, where we headed?" Faith asked, allowing the blonde to keep a hold on her hand as she led her along. She wasn't exactly paying attention to the where so much as what was directly in front of her: the blonde's swaying hips and inhumanly perfect ass.

"You asked to see things you can't find anywhere else." Buffy said, and Faith could her the playful smile on her face, "After last night…" she trailed off, choosing her words carefully. "I wanted to make sure that this was you're last-but-not-least destination."

They wound through a few alleys and narrow streets before Buffy stopped at a corner and peered around it for a second. Nodding around the side of the building, Faith followed her. There were yellow, sawhorse type barriers blocking off the street. Standing just behind them were a pair of Roman police officers, armed with machine-guns. Tiny little Buffy walked confidently up them and whispered something in Italian, before walking right past. Faith followed cautiously. The man she passed on her right tipped his hat, wishing her goodnight and winking. The road widened out, as Faith hurried to catch up to Buffy now that they were cleared of the security.

"B, what's-" She stopped. What lay in front of the blonde was the most gorgeous fountain Faith had ever seen, marble and alabaster, the water of the large bottom tier a perfect, Mediterranean blue. "That's… That's… The most beautiful, Olympic-size pool I've ever seen!" She said, shocked at the sheer size and scope of it. Buffy held in a laugh. Faith glanced at her to scowl but her eyes quickly returned to the fountain.

"Welcome to the Trevi Fountain, Faith." She said, smiling. The blonde let her arm hang around her lover's waist, holding her hip-to-hip.

"Holy Shit." Faith said solidly. Walking down the stairs, Faith approached the water's edge. The bottom of the pool seemed to shine. She saw that the entire bottom of it was littered with what must have been thousands upon thousands of coins. She recognized many of them – dollars, euros, pesos, francs, and yen - there must have been a small fortune lying at the bottom of this thing! Dipping her hands into the water, she was mildly shocked by the coolness of it. She felt Buffy join her at the water's edge.

"There's a saying," She said quietly, sitting down on the fountain's rim. "That if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi fountain, then one day you'll return." Buffy held her eyes for a long moment. "I know you have to leave tomorrow, but…" In the blonde's out-stretched palm lay a silver and gold 2-Euro coin. "I really enjoyed your visit." Her tone was scared but hopeful, as though she were afraid that Faith wouldn't understand.

"You saying you're ready for me to get out of your hair?" Faith joked, taking the large coin between her thumb and index finger. She smirked, clutching the Euro in her fist as she sat down next to the blonde.

"I'm saying I wish you didn't have to go." She answered quietly, her tone unchanged. "We only **just-**…" She trailed off, but Faith knew what she meant. _We only just put words to this a few hours ago_, Faith sighed, _You hadn't even thought of it until a couple of days ago… Now neither of us wants to risk losing it if we separate again_...

"Is there a trick to it?" Faith asked, looking at the blonde, "Does it have to be my right hand or something? Am I allowed to look over my shoulder, or will that break the mojo?" Buffy shook her head, but Faith saw her swallow hard. She looked away, trying to focus on the coin in her hand, giving Buffy a little privacy as she tried to reign in the tears collecting in her eyes.

Letting the coin rest in the center of her right palm, she gave it a gentle toss over her shoulder, but made a point not to turn and look. She heard the gentle '_sploosh!_' of it hitting the water. With her Slayer strength, she worried she might have missed the mark and it would go bouncing off somewhere. She felt like she'd take all the help she could get – there was no way around it: she was leaving in a few short hours. The smile on her face became remorseful, despite her efforts to hide it.

"So how did you arrange this?" Faith asked, standing up and offering her hands to the blonde as she pulled the woman to her feet. Buffy blushed and nodded to the opposite side of the fountain. There, a figure stood in an impeccably pressed suit; black, with lavender-silk tie and kerchief. He tapped the edge of his perfectly and tastefully coordinated Fedora. Picking up his ivory cane from the rough-iron fence around the street above them, Faith nodded curtly as he made his leave. "Figures."

"Hey." Buffy said solidly, trying to reassure her. "He knows why you're here."

"Oh yeah," Faith countered, slightly upset that Buffy had been talking to Dorian, even since the other Slayer had arrived – to assess the extent of their relationship no less! "And what _exactly_ am I here for?" Buffy smirked.

"To leave me unsatisfied." She replied confidently. Faith frowned for a moment before remembering. She tried to keep the smile from her lips, but it was too hard. "Well, at least, I hope you will. Have to have something to look forward to for next time."

"Are you implying I can't keep pace with _that_ guy?" Faith said derisively. Buffy shook her head, smirking.

"I'm saying I hope you fall short. Because when I wake up tomorrow, I want to _**want**_ to have sex with you again." she clarified.

"_**Again**_?" Faith teased, smiling as they made their way back towards Buffy's apartment. "That would imply that by tomorrow morning… We will have had sex before." Buffy reached out and entwined their fingers.

"I-I know." She stuttered. "We don't have to." She clarified. "You know, if you don't want-"

"Oh, hell fuckin' yeah we do." Faith clarified further, suddenly pushing the blonde against the nearest wall. Leaning in quickly, she kissed the blonde as hard and as lovingly as her physical body would allow. Buffy moaned into her mouth and kissed her back just as firmly. "I've been waiting fuckin' **years** to do this – and you been teasing me since my first night here." She pushed out between fierce kisses. Buffy's arms were both wrapped around the younger woman's neck, forcing their mouths together in a desperate embrace.

_**(The Following Scene Has Been Cut Due to 'Adult' Content…)**_

"How far to your place?" Faith asked, kissing her neck as the blonde tried to calm her breathing.

"A lifetime away." She groaned.

"No, really Buffy-"

"Five blocks, maybe?" she said, locking eyes with the brunette. Both girls pulled their lower lips between their teeth, unconscious of their synchronicity.

"Fine." Faith almost grunted, her eagerness obvious, as she moved back a little to allow Buffy to lower her legs. "But we should – Arrrgh!" She screamed suddenly. When the blonde fell back onto her own feet she saw the sword being withdrawn from Faith's side. As the brunette collapsed into her arms, Buffy moved to stand in front of her protectively.

"Paulo…" She growled. The one-armed vampire smirked viciously.

"You 'ave finally gotten it right, Elizabetta." There he stood in all his pathetic-vampire-hack looking glory. As Faith held her bleeding side, she couldn't help but think that no one should look that smug. Ever. She was just thankful, knowing that any second now Buffy would wipe that shit-eater grin off his face.

"Faith – Stake?" She asked quickly, holding out her hand behind her.

"Uhmm…" she trailed off, rethinking that whole grin-wiping thing.

"Shit." The blonde mumbled, shaking her head.

"What?" Faith yelled in her defense, "I thought you said he was dead!"

"I thought he _**was**_ dead!" Buffy yelled back, glancing over her shoulder, "I checked the pan the next day, there was nothing but ash in it!"

"Could that be because – oh, I dunno – You left it out on your balcony! Which gets eastern exposure!" she yelled, her side really starting to ache. But she watched as Buffy paused.

"No." she said slowly. "No, there was too much blood all over my balcony for it to just come from the arm… You climbed up there to try and get it back, didn't you?" She addressed the vampire. Faith froze. Paulo just growled.

"Yes," he muttered, obviously unhappy, "Yes I tried to retrieve it, left some wood-ash behind but it was too late – the thing couldn't be reattached." She sounded really angry, but his face spit into a smirk towards the end. "I saw you two through the window… I watched as you kissed this girl, whom you claimed to be family, and I knew – even if I could not replace my arm, I could take something just as valuable from you…" Faith could see Buffy tense as she stood protectively in front of her.

"I won't allow you to–"

"You think I haven't planned this?" he yelled loudly, voice booming off every angle of the street. "That I haven't followed you, watched your every move, for the past week as I waited my perfect moment?" He laughed so coldly that Faith, whom in her lifetime had her many kinds of frightening laughter filled with hatred and distain, felt her skin shiver. "You are half drunk, neither of you holds a single weapon, and you were so consumed with your need to slake your foul lust you didn't hear my approach at all… I would call this the perfect moment to strike, wouldn't you?" Buffy didn't answer. "You're completely unarmed."

"In moment, you will be too." Faith said, pushing up from where she leaned against the wall. "Because for _this_," she said, indicating her stab-wound, "I'll settle for no less than the only arm you've got left." Buffy reached out to steady her, but did not push her back as she had in their previous fight. They smiled somberly at each other. "You didn't think to carry a stake?" she chastised her quietly, looking back at the vampire.

"I thought you would have one!" she stage whispered back, doing the same, her voice a mix of shock that they were having this conversation right now and embarrassment.

"Why do I have to carry the weapons? I'm on vacation! This is _**your**_ town to protect." Buffy turned to her suddenly.

"And where the _hell_ am I supposed to hide a stake in this dress!" she asked almost angrily.

"Yeaaaaahr!" _**Shink!**_ Both girls ducked under the sudden swing of the sword over their heads. They could hear the sharp point of it scraping roughly against the stones of the building at their backs.

Buffy, being uninjured, went low and moved to attack his legs. Ready for her, he jumped over her swinging kick and turned and tried to bring her sword down across her throat. Faith reached out and grabbed his elbow from behind at just the last second. Reeling his arm back, he followed the momentum of her energy and elbowed her right in the chin, forcing her head to snap back sharply. Buffy cold-cocked him across the cheek in retaliation.

As they fell apart and spread from the fall out of this volley of blows, they circled. The Slayers tried to surround him, back and front, but the vampire wouldn't have it. With a quick, snapping wrist movement he cut off one of their attempts to get behind him. He grinned menacingly as they tried to back him against a wall.

"You think you can stop me?" he laughed.

"You seriously think you can win?" Buffy laughed, "You only have one arm, and it's weighed down by the only weapon you're carrying. Two Slayers? I'd say the odds are seriously in our favor."

"You don't even have the simplest of defenses, no stake! What do you plan to do?"

"And you just gave away your greatest advantage." Buffy actually laughed. Faith didn't feel like laughing; her side was really starting to burn.

"Oh, and what was that, Elizabetta?"

"The element of surprise." She smirked. His face fell slightly. "You were so consumed with vanity, with your need to monologue, you can't even see that – had you been any kind of real hunter, killer, warrior – you would have seen the perfect opportunity to kill us both in one fell swoop." His face hardened as he realized it himself. Faith glanced at her, having realized she'd not thought of it either. "When our backs were turned, when our eyes were closed, the only sound in our ears the hard thump of our own blood as it rushed… You could have driven that sword through both our hearts at once and we'd have been dead before we even knew you were still alive."

"I like a challenge!" he growled angrily, though they knew it was more at himself than at them anymore. Buffy just shrugged.

"Then I guess you'd like to die." And she dove at him, swinging and kicking, dodging his swipes and yet unable to lay hand to him. _Did this guy somehow get better in the last 72 hours?_ Faith wondered, _Or did losing an arm just rid him of some dead weight?_ As a slight wave of dizziness came over her, Faith closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to shake the distracting waves of pain as they vibrated through every muscle in her torso at every heartbeat. Then she heard it.

It was too close; way, _way_, _**way**_ too close for comfort. That distinct, metallic _**szoom!**_ of a blade slicing the air… She felt the breeze of its force barely ruffle the hair at her scalp line. Her eyes sprang open, not from the noise – but from the lack of impact. It was so close it _should_ have hit her. And what she saw made her heart stop. There, right above her head, was Buffy's hand… it had caught the thin, narrow blade of the foil before it could come down on it's intended target.

When her eyes connected with those of her lover she saw them grimaced with fear. That really must have hurt. They all seemed so shocked at the sudden and instinctual action that it took the vampire an extra second or two to quickly pull the blade back, effectively slicing the blonde's hand open.

Buffy recoiled, balling her injured fist tightly and squeezing it with her free hand. Faith moved to stand half in front of her, worried what Paulo might do next. He just laughed, looking at the blade. Pointing it skyward, he watched as a few drops of blood rolled down the tang towards the hilt. He ran it slowly along his tongue. He shuddered so hard at the taste, Faith seriously wondered if he'd just wet himself. The gasp of pure ecstasy filled her with pure fire, a mix of hatred and jealousy.

"Oh," he almost moaned, "She must love you very much little girl." He sighed, still recovering from his sudden high. "A Slayer's hands are most valuable to her… To sacrifice those, when they are the only weapon she has… She must really love you, bella ragazza." He swallowed, and his eyes turned that Vampiric gold, almost bursting with light they were glowing so brightly in the dark of the alley. Faith suddenly became afraid.

"They're not her only weapon." She countered, "She's still got me." He chuckled darkly, and seemed even more calm than ever.

"You? You cane barely stand, donna."

"That's where you're wrong." Buffy breathed out from behind her, voice determined. "A man's greatest asset may be his hands," she began as the brunette glanced back at her, smiling, "But on a woman? It's definitely her legs." Faith turned back to him, nodding.

"Prove it?" almost before the words left his mouth Faith swung her foot so hard into his face he turned a full 360 degrees before she brought her elbow down on his arm, breaking it, forcing him to drop the sword. As he shook his head to try and recover, she took two quick steps before leaping up, up, up, wrapping her thighs around either side of his head and giving a firm twist of her hips, breaking his neck as she brought him down onto the pavement.

Grunting in frustration at the wave of pain that shot through her side from wrenching her hips, she rolled off the now motionless form. Breathing quickly out her nose a few times, she pulled herself up, and stood next to the blonde as she looked down at the twitching body of their former foe as she caught her breath. He was not dead, they knew that, as he'd not turned to dust. Neck broken? Yes, but technically his head was not rendered from his shoulders… so he would recover, slowly.

"Almost a shame he's not awake enough to appreciate this." Faith said, holding her side as she leaned down to pick up the sword.

She poked him hard between his legs with the tip of it. His body convulsed and he let out the most pathetic, whimpering sound she'd ever heard from a demon. She poked him again, low on his belly. His eyes opened wide this time, but in such a way that they were unsure if he could really see them.

"B, hold up his arm would you?" Faith asked, calmly and casually. She did. Faith brought the slim blade down perfectly at the shoulder socket, and Buffy dropped the now independent appendage onto the ground unceremoniously. The vampire let out a long groan, and they knew the pain was forcing him to recover more quickly.

"Like carving a turkey leg." She mumbled. She kneeled down next to him and whispered. "You attacked me. You fucked up B's hand. You stabbed me in the side – which granted I should be used to by now, but I'm not –" she pressed the tip of the sword as she watched his suddenly realize his other arm was now gone too. "But what really bothers me is your timing." She growled, and missed Buffy's smirk at her back. "You came in the middle of a really good thing. And now, I'm gonna make you pay."

She slightly lifted his legs, laying the blade at the backs of his knees and pulled. He let out such a howl Faith was sure that any second now the Roman police would be descending like locusts. "That's for Buffy's hand." She said, then quickly cut the tendons at the backs of his ankles as well, listening as he howled yet again, pitifully. "And that's for wasting my precious time." Throwing the sword a safe distance from the now completely immobile body, both Slayers watched as he lay there, floundering and crying like a grotesque infant.

"I'm not gonna kill you. I'm just going to leave you like that, until the sun finds you." The look on his face was shocked and utterly frightened. "Sorry," she shrugged, "I forgot to bring a stake." And they walked away.

As they made their way the short distance back to the apartment, Buffy applied a bit of pressure to the wound at Faith's side as the brunette kissed the back of the blonde's injured hand. Huddled close, they sighed and whispered to each other that they would be fine, not to worry, they would take care of one another. When they made it into the apartment, Buffy found her medical kit and laid it out on her bed, telling Faith to fill her bathroom sink with water and try and clean out her wound. When she came back, she held her shirt in her hands, looking utterly ashamed.

"I ruined it." She said, holding it out. Buffy smiled sadly and took it – quickly tossing it into her hamper.

"Fuck it." She mumbled, pulling the brunette to sit next to her. "At least I got to see you out of it." She smiled, joking as she applied two gauze pads to the back and side of Faith's hip. "Does it hurt much?" she asked, sounding like she was sure it did. Faith shook her head.

"Nah, not too much. Thank god for narrow hip-bones," she chuckled darkly, "Just scraped along it. In one side – out the other." Buffy kept her eyes close on her work as she wrapped a thin layer of wound gauze about her middle, struggling slightly with her still balled fist. Faith helped her, holding it so she could tape it down. Buffy glanced up and smiled sadly.

"Do you need pain meds?" she asked quietly. Faith smiled and shook her head.

"Seriously B, if I could find a barbell big enough I could turn this into a piercing. It's through and through, I swear – flesh and blood only." She reached out to try and take the blonde's hand, but she pulled away. "Come on, let's assess the damage."

Buffy slowly tried to open her hand but let out a strangled whimper and stopped. "Deep, huh?" Faith asked, glancing at the blonde's hazel eyes. She nodded sheepishly. "I gotta say, this was a really stupid move, B." she chastised gently. Buffy sighed.

"Yeah, but it's not like I could help it. If I could've come up with a better plan to save your life in a quarter of a second I would have." Faith just had to laugh at that – because she sounded so serious. Slowly easing her tiny fist open again, she tried to keep her breathing even as the blonde cried out a little in pain.

"Easy, easy, easy," she murmured, leaning in to kiss the blonde by her ear, "Just want to make sure all your fingers work." Buffy moved them slowly, one my one, as if playing an invisible trumpet. Everything seemed fine, the bleeding was slowing down, and nothing seemed to be permanently damaged.

Taking a square of gauze, she folded it in half and laid it down over the wound on her palm. As she slowly swathed the wrapped bandage around it, trying to be as delicate as possible she heard Buffy breathe out tiredly. When she looked up, she saw tears on the blonde's cheeks as she sat patiently on her bed. "What is it?" Faith asked her.

"This isn't how I thought we'd end up." Buffy chuckled wetly, but still smiling.

"You mean tonight, or in general?" she asked back, grinning a bit herself. Buffy gave a solid laugh before wiping her tears away with her wrist.

"Either, both, I dunno." She mumbled, staring at her own bandage.

"Hey – plus side?" Faith offered. Buffy looked up, as though expecting the other shoe to drop. "I'm still half naked and on your bed. So you kinda got what you wanted." Buffy shook her blonde head and sighed, her grin growing.

"Next time, I'll be more specific." She vowed.

"Hey, announcing your plans aloud is the fastest way to hear god laugh." Faith warned.

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Country song." Faith laughed, leaning forward to kiss the woman in front of her. The blonde smiled against her lips briefly before kissing back. Reaching for the blonde's legs, she pulled them into her lap, un-tying the straps of her overly complicated shoes. She could feel Buffy holding in a laugh at this.

"Want me to get your boots for you?" She whispered, kissing Faith's nose, cheeks, dimples, chin, and the almost completely faded bruise at her neck. Faith nodded, and in a few seconds they were gone too. As Faith reached for the waistband of her leather pants her hands were brushed away as the blonde got up slightly, kneeling on the mattress between the brunette's legs.

_**(This Very **__**Long**__** Scene Has Been Cut Due to 'Adult' Content, and I'm Sure By Now Many of You are Confused and Lost and For that I **__**Am**__** Sorry – But Rules are Rules, and is a Jack-Ass…)**_

"I hope you don't mind that I took the literal approach?" Faith joked. Buffy laughed briefly before leaning up on an elbow. As she gazed down at her, the brunette suddenly felt stripped completely bare under her gaze. A lot more naked than she could remember being in her entire Slaying lifetime. Buffy seemed to be memorizing her every detail. It kind of made Faith nervous, she knew she must look more than a little wayward – having just been doing what she'd been doing. But the thing that worried her was the slight frown on Buffy's kiss-bruised lips.

"What?" she asked quietly, reaching up to run a fingertip over her lover's bottom lip. Buffy shook it off, smiling again, though sadly, as she caught the hand the finger had belonged to and kissed it.

"Just thinking…" she trailed off.

"About what?" Faith asked, needing to know how to fix the look on her lover's face.

"Waiting to see if I'm completely satisfied." She joked, her smile turning genuine briefly. Faith pulled her hand back and scowled playfully.

"No, really – what is it?" she asked, her worry starting to show. Buffy shook her head almost mournfully.

"Would you really wanna come back?" she asked quietly, sounding doubtful. Faith stared at her blankly.

"Are you kidding?" she whispered, taking the blonde's chin between her fingers.

"I mean it Faith – you're an adventurer. You could never be happy just staying in one place." Faith made to lean up, to try and gain some leverage on her, but the blonde saw her wince at jarring her side and pushed her back down carefully. "I just don't want to get my hopes up, Faith. Because you know that with all the stuff we have in our past, if we keep down this road it's just going to be epic." She warned. But Faith smiled.

"Then I say we're certainly in the right place." Buffy looked away, so Faith turned her back, locking her gaze. "**Buffy**," she said solidly, "Nobody ever made history out of a love that came easy. And, not to sound like a hack but – not all who wonder are lost, you know? I know exactly where I belong. Just took me a while to figure out how to get here." Buffy smiled but looked doubtful.

"I guess." She mumbled.

"_**I know**_." She said honestly, her belief obvious in her tone. "I'll call Willow tomorrow morning before my flight," she said quietly, not liking that she had to leave at all. "I'll let her know that, well… she needs to find a new Special Operations and Tactics Slayer." Buffy smiled slightly at this but still looked away. "I'm sure Kennedy would fit the bill quite nicely." She joked, "She is unstable, after all." Buffy laughed and glanced at her shyly.

"Okay."

"So when can I next visit?" Faith asked quietly, wanting to make sure that this wasn't just Buffy projecting.

"I've got something in mind." She replied, looking right into the brunette's eyes this time, her grin all mischief. "I'll try and convince Willow… she might be more receptive if I try and explain." Faith just nodded. Glad that it was finally settled, it seemed.

"Do I get a hint? A clue? Anything?" Faith asked, running her fingertips over the blonde's _**(Censured)**_, enjoying the way they stiffened once again. Buffy smirked as she glanced down at the hand teasing her.

"How about a preview?" she offered, moving Faith's hand away from her own breast as she leaned in to run the tip of her tongue over her partner's. Faith groaned and smiled, closing her eyes.

"Won't say no…" she trailed off. Slowly, she realized, the blonde had no intention of staying. As she felt the kisses and gentle nips move from her nipple, to her areola, to the underside of her breast, and then to her belly, she suddenly got a very clear picture of where this was headed.

_**(The Following Scene – **__Also Sizable__** - Has Been Cut Due to 'Adult' Content… Yet Again...)**_

When the movements became strained but determined, Buffy finally relented, giving her _**(Censured)**_ one more kiss as she finally pull out of her tired but satisfied lover. Faith groaned at the feeling, and Buffy smiled.

"Ow." She groaned slowly, finally opening her eyes to look down at the blonde. Buffy just chuckled.

"Sorry." She answered, quietly.

"Nah," Faith assured her, still panting, voice roughened with much yelling and vocalization, "Iz'good… good ow." Buffy just shook her head and grinned.

_**(Censured…)**_

"Was that bad?" she asked, hesitant.

"I dunno," Faith muttered, voice flat with nerves, "Did you think it was bad?" she asked back. The blonde shook her head.

"No." Buffy voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. Faith grinned.

"It's normal, but… it's not for everyone." Faith tried to explain, delicately. Buffy smiled a little sheepishly, but her blush darkened under her already tan cheeks.

"Do you not want me to?" Faith's eyes widened slightly.

"No, no! I want, yes good – good for me," she insisted suddenly, "I just mean…" she trailed off, but made no attempt to continue as the blonde smiled a bit more widely and nodded.

"Okay."

"Okay" Faith parroted back. And then Buffy leaned down again. "Wait – what're you – _**Oooooooh!**_" she doesn't remember much after that… things kind of blacked out on her.

When she started to come to it was light out, and her body still ached, which meant they must have kept one another up pretty late and – _damn!_ – sex with a fellow Slayer certainly had it's benefits. She could hear Buffy's quiet voice in the next room, talking to someone, but Faith couldn't move. Laying on her stomach, face down on the pillows, she didn't think she could make herself leave this exact spot without some assistance. _Holy Fuck,_ Faith thought, sounding kind of shocked even in her own mind, _Score one for the home-team! Buffy must be some kind of physical genius, if she picks this up as fast as she does Slaying…_

Then she heard a soft clicking approaching before the bed dipped down as the blonde sat on the edge of it. Faith smiled half into the pillow as she felt the blonde lean down to kiss her head. Touching her back softly, running her fingers down it, Faith forced her eyes open, as she looked up at this little beauty doting on her.

"Hey." Faith mumbled, taking in the sight of her new lover, dressed in a cute little pair of jeans and a pale pink halter.

"Hey." Buffy answered, her smirk a little sad at the edges. "That was Willow." She said, knowing the brunette heard her.

"What did she want?" Faith asked, wrapping an arm a little awkwardly around Buffy's waist, needing to hold her in that moment.

"She wanted to know why you weren't checked onto your flight." Buffy said simply. Faith rolled over quickly, pulling the alarm clock around to look at its digital face. "She was waiting for almost an hour for Security to ding your passport, just to check to make sure everything went through without a hitch."

"When's my flight?" Faith asked, "It's only eleven-o'clock."

"It was at eleven-fifteen." Buffy said promptly. Faith's eyes bugged, moving to jump out of bed, the tiny blonde caught her around the middle and threw her back onto the bed, laughing.

"Willow's gonna kill me!" Faith groaned.

"No she's not." Buffy assured her, moving next to her lover on the bed, "I just talked to her for almost an hour. We've worked a few things out, and she's arranged a later flight." Faith nodded, happy that she wasn't going to get totally busted, but still feeling that pang at having to leave at all.

"So what did you tell her?" Faith asked, curious as to what kind of spin the blonde would put on this un-expected lateness.

"The truth." Buffy said, looking at her honestly. Faith was kind of shocked and it must have shown on her face. "That was kind of Willow's reaction too." She said, holding in another laugh. "The only thing I lied about was that this developed _**after**_ you finished the interview. So if she asks, stick to the story or they're gonna send out someone else, and that I _don't_ need!" she said, sounding exasperated. Faith kind of chuckled.

"Wow. Coming out to the family…" Faith muttered. "You sure I'm worth it, B?" she asked, tone joking but certainly hesitant. Buffy nodded, taking Faith's hand and lacing their wingers together.

"Yeah. Besides, I needed to explain to Willow why you wanted more time off."

"Did I get it?" Faith asked quickly. Buffy nodded, smiling at her. Faith let out a sigh of relief.

"But there's a hitch," Buffy warned, "Willow would only take this as your two-week notice. So she has some assignments for you before she can let you go. Says you have to train your replacement for the next two weeks so they're not completely short-handed."

"Who'd they get?" Faith asked, her tone obviously worried. Buffy smiled evilly.

"Well, I suggested Kennedy." Faith smirked too, "And Willow thought it was a good idea, seeing as how the girl has _way_ too much free time now that they've given up on Rio." Buffy quieted and suddenly became serious.

"You know Faith, a lot can happen in a few days," she began slowly, "And as much as I don't want you to leave I know it's in your very blood – this need to move, explore, run around,"

"B," Faith tried to stop her but Buffy plowed on, insistent.

"Faith, listen to me." She said solidly. "In a week I'm going up to Florence to spend a few days with Dawn on her Art Restoration expedition. When that's over, she and I are headed out to Sienna for a month." She slowed down here, sounding almost apologetic, "That's why I've been waitressing so much recently. I've been saving some extra money so that Dawn and I could rent this old Franciscan villa just outside the city walls. All the old crowd's been invited to stop in… It was kind of an attempt to try and bring the Scoobys back together again, seeing as how we've been spread so thin this past year or so." She sighed and brought Faith's hand to her lips to kiss.

"Whatever you decide at the end of the two weeks, I want you to know you're welcome to come visit us in Sienna. Willow's even visiting, she said, regardless of weather or not she can get Kennedy to come with." Faith smiled at this and leaned over to kiss Buffy's temple.

"I'm not about to change my mind, B." She said, quietly whispering in her ear. "I meant what I said yesterday at the Colosseum. This is where you and I are meant to be right now, and with any altered step along the way, we'd miss this opportunity to be happy together. Buffy, I've never felt so much before in my life as I have these past few days with you. And I don't mean just for any one person, I mean at all, ever." She looked at the blonde seriously.

"You talk about the wild life I lead, and I have to tell you – if you were to mash together all the excitement and adventure I felt, moving from place to place fighting things and having a good time," Faith laughed a little as she turned to face the blonde fully on the bed, "I got more out of falling asleep in your arms last night than I ever have dodging bullets in Israel or chasing demons in Nanjing. I don't move because I feel like I need to, B. I move because I need to feel. And you have always made me feel..." She watched as tears rolled down the blonde's face as she said this. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." She cried quietly, "I love you too." She wrapped her arms around Faith's neck and kissed her. Faith just held her for a long moment.

"B, promise me something?" Faith asked before pulling back. The blonde wiped her eyes and nodded. "Seeing as how you were the one that fell in love so hard and fast, do you think you could give me your word on something?"

"What? That I won't fall _**out**_ of love with you?" she asked, laughing, though her voice was still a little croaky with tears.

"Actually – Yeah." Faith said seriously. Buffy looked surprised. "B, I'm not kidding. If I show up in two weeks and Dorian's back on your arm, I think I might kill him." Buffy smiled and sniffled a little.

"You can't kill him Faith. He's an immortal."

"Oh." She muttered, "Right."

"But I think I understand what you mean." She said, laughing lightly. She climbed off the bed and stood next to it. "How about if I promise you this," she said, pulling the covers a little higher on Faith's nude body. The brunette raised an eyebrow at the odd movement. "That any bed I call my own, I'll reserve the other side only for you?" she sounded so sweet, and so sincere, Faith couldn't help but smile as she leaned back against the pillows.

"I think I can live with that." Buffy smiled. Before leaning on the bed to kiss her lover deeply. It lasted several, long minutes, and resulted in Buffy pulling away breathless.

"What time is it?" She asked. Faith glanced at the clock.

"Eleven-twenty-nine. Why?" Buffy pulled all the way back. Reaching down next to the bed, she tossed Faith small, rolling luggage onto it. The brunette looked confused. "When's my flight?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I packed up all your stuff." She assure her, "But you might wanna wrap up a little bit more…" Her smirk became almost evil, "Unless you want to make me jealous." Faith looked at her like she was nuts before she realized what was going on. Buffy glanced at the clock before turning back to Faith's stunned face. "See you in two weeks, darling." Buffy blew the brunette a kiss, her face all playfulness. Then the badness started.

Feeling as though a tornado opened above her head, she felt the world give a horrible, violent turn - the entire universe, it seemed, spinning out of control, feeling as though someone was taking an egg-beater to her intestines and pulling on all her limbs simultaneously – Faith felt the suffocating nothingness of the ether pull at her, trying to pull her apart as if the void desired to make something from nothing, or else using whatever parts of her it could tear off. She got the briefest glimpse of paisley at what must have been the speed of light before it slammed right into her face with incredible force.

"Ow." She muttered into what she knew to be the carpet of Giles' office. Swallowing hard, she willed herself not to be sick. As she tried to sit up, she also found that the sheet of Buffy's bed had made the journey with her, binding her like a swaddled baby… not to mention that her bag had landed on her back. Trying to fight her way free of it, she managed to roll over angrily. She saw the shocked look on Giles' face as he approached her with fear, almost. Willow, sitting cross-legged on the brass pentacle inlaid into the floor, smirked knowingly behind his back. Finally managing to release her arms, she held the blanket to her as she drew herself up to standing.

"That was bracing." She said seriously. Giles just continued to stare at her, dumbfounded. Willow walked over towards her, holding out her hand. Unzipping the front of her small suitcase, she found her case-file laid neatly on top of her folded clothes. She handed it to the witch, who continued to smirk at her. Giles took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth from his pocket.

"I, uhm, take it you had a good time visiting Buffy?" he asked delicately. Willow hid her face behind the file she was now pretending to read.

"Yeah, actually." Faith said calmly, "And I was wondering, could I barrow a book of yours?"

"A book?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Buffy recommended it to me… I think maybe I ought to read it." He seemed to return to himself at the mention of his beloved bindings.

"Really? What's it called?" he asked, approaching the shelves behind his massive, oak desk.

"I dunno. Slayer Diary, set in Rome, around 200CE, I think. Written by someone named 'Sophetia'?" she asked. Both Faith and Giles turned around sharply when they heard the crash behind them. Willow had fainted it would seem. "Does that usually happen?" Faith asked, nodding towards the semi-unconscious girl, knowing that while Willow was the most powerful living witch to date - sending people through the Ether had to be draining. Giles blushed.

"Not usually, no." He tossed Faith the book before walking over to tend to the dizzy witch trying to pick herself up off his floor. Faith chuckled when she read the title.

"**Lysistrata's Lover**" She opened it up to the first page. "I'm gonna go take a bath and put some clothes on. You know where to find me." She muttered, eyes already on the text and as grabbed the handle of her bag and made her way out of the office calmly. Giles just muttered exasperatedly under his breath.

"Bloody Slayers…"

**The End**

-**VixenRaign**-

Well, all, I hope you enjoyed it – and once again I am sorry it took me this long to get the last part out… Sex makes me squeamish as I'm not used to writing it and know I'm not terribly good at it. For anyone who still reads this, even after the almost three years of me taking forever and being a jack-ass, I just want to thank you for your patients; lord knows I haven't earned it.  
_**And if you're reading this at and it's been censured, send me a review with your e-mail address and I'll link you to the original version someplace else.**_

_P.S.: "The Supper Club" is a real place, it's amazing, and when I was last there it __**was**__ a place meant to become popular by word of mouth – and it was damn near impossible to find if you didn't have a guide to help you. Now it's been popularized by travel books and shows like __**Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown**__ - - which kind of saddens me because the struggle and mystery of trying to find the damn place certainly increased the mystique and intrigue. Still, I highly recommend it. And if you should ever go – they make the best mojitos. _


End file.
